The coaches and media convened in Bridgeport, West Virginia for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic when the Mountain East Conference basketball poll was released on Tuesday. The Notre Dame College Falcons were pegged fifth in the poll. This is what NDC Head Coach Mark Richmond had to say:
"We are excited about where we are... our team has never worked harder in the offseason and our team chemistry has never been better, "Richmond explained.
This is what Tyland Crawford had to say:
" We are not really worried about it. I know we're going to have a really good season this year but our focus is to get better every day, "Crawford said.
NDC is coming off a fifth place finish a season ago before falling to Fairmont State in the MEC Quarterfinals. The poll this year was the closest one yet. The poll looks like this:
West Liberty- 115
Fairmont State- 113
Charleston- 102
West Virginia State- 93
NDC- 81
Concord-67
Alderson Broaddus- 51
Glenville State- 51
Davis & Elkins- 48
Wheeling- 32
Frostburg State- 28
West Virginia Wesleyan- 11
Richmond talked about a few guys:
"Jaedon Willis and Tyland Crawford bring a lot of experience. Willis is a guy we are really excited about and Tyland is a grad student who is part of our MBA program who gives us some experience."
Then he talked about Daylin Lee:
"Daylin is a guy who has been in this league for a few years now.)
He then talked about a couple of newcomers:
"Andre Harris is a local kid from Brush High School by way of Indian Hills Community College and Wright State University who we are excited about. Kaleb Torrence is a point guard who transferred from Millersville who we also are excited about."
NDC has improved it's win total in the conference every year since Richmond took over. NDC was 15-14 last season and 12-10 in the MEC. They started the season 8-2, including a win over #7 West Liberty 82-81 in the home opener. The Falcons also had a quality win against a tournament team in #10 Fairmont State 78-73. That highlighted a 9-4 home record for the season.
Richmond said this about his backcourt:
"We are excited about Jaedon Willis and DeAirius Barker in the backcourt."
Willis is the first NDC First Team All-MEC performer since 2019. In 29 games he was a scoring machine. He led the team in field goals made (191,) 3-pointer's made (85,) free throws made (127,) free throw percentage (83.6 percent,) total points scored (594,) points per game (20.5,) assists (86,) assists per game (three,) he was third in the MEC in 3-point percentage and fifth in points per game.
Crawford returns after starting all 29 games last season. A season ago Crawford made 33 3-pointer's, made 76 free throws, scored 343 points, averaging 11.8 points per game. Crawford was also solid on the glass as he secured 42 offensive rebounds, 129 defensive rebounds, 171 total rebounds, and averaged 5.8 rebounds per contest. He also had 117 field goals made and 30 steals on the year.
Richmond talked about the newest additions:
"We've got some young pieces that we are bringing along and I think will contribute for us this season. I am excited about our depth and versatility. I think we can win in multiple ways."
Lee joined NDC last season after going to West Virginia Wesleyan to begin his career. Lee came off the bench in 19 of 27 games, making eight starts. He made 46 free throws on the season, he also grabbed 90 total rebounds which averaged out to 3.3 boards per contest. He made 28 3-pointer's, and scored a total of 230 points which was good for 8.5 points per game.
NDC will start the season with an exhibition at the Wolstein Center on 11/7 when they take on Division I Cleveland State. They will then travel to the Conference Challenge on the campus of Slippery Rock. They will face Seton Hill on 11/11 before hosting Slippery Rock the following night.
Richmond gave his final thought:
"We are excited about where we are but we are not excited about where we were picked. We can't wait to get going here in less than a week."
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