Conference Preview: Mid-Eastern Atlantic

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, known for being one of the weakest -- but also the most competitive -- conferences in the nation has many story lines for the 2006-07 season.

The biggest is at Morgan State, where former Cal coach Todd Bozeman takes over for Butch Beard, who resigned.

Bozeman hasn't coached in college in eight years since receiving an unprecedented eight-year "show-cause" ban from the NCAA after admitting he had paid a recruit's family $30,000. Bozeman looks to turn around a program that went 4-26 last year.

As for the rest of the league, only one team finished above .500 and four had at least 20 losses. The one team, Delaware State, is the favorite to claim its third consecutive conference title but is still searching for its first NCAA Tournament victory.

Any number of teams could challenge the Hornets for the league title, including Coppin State, Norfolk State, and South Carolina State.

Team to beat

Delaware State: Heads and shoulders above the rest of the league, the Hornets were denied the conference tournament title after losing to Hampton 60-56 in the final. Delaware State still made the NIT and actually won its first-round game, but this year it looks to reach the NCAAs.

Its seven top scorers return, including three starters. Leading the way is the best player in the conference, Jahsha Bluntt, a 6-foot-6 senior who will be joined by Joe Dickens (8.6 ppg) and sophomore Tracey Worley (8.6 ppg).

Point guard Darrin Shine, who led the team in assists and chipped in with 8.2 points per game will be joined by potential starter Roy Bright, who transferred from Cincinnati. With that core of players, Delaware Sate should reach their goal and get back to the NCAA Tournament.

Watch out for

South Carolina State: With four starters back from a team that finished tied for third, the Bulldogs are the ones to watch.

They closed out the season by winning nine of their last 11 games before falling to Delaware State in the MEAC Tournament. They will take their beatings early (South Carolina, South Florida and Georgia), but once conference play comes around, they should be in a good shape.

New coach Jamal Brown will look to his best player, senior Brian Mason (14.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg) to guide the rest of the core group: Derrick Davis, William Sago and Travis Jones.

The Bulldogs lost forward Thurman Zimmerman to graduation, so they will need to find some power up front to go with their talented guards. Julius Carter (6-8, 4.0 ppg) and Chris Lee (6-8, 3.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg) will be the leading candidates.

Player of the year

Jahsha Bluntt, Delaware State: Last season's Player of the Year returns for his senior season, poised to lead his team to the conference title.

Bluntt averaged 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and ranked in the top 10 in the MEAC in six different categories, including field-goal percentage (75.6 percent) and 3-point percentage (39.1 percent).

The only person who can challenge Bluntt is Coppin State guard Tywain McKee. The junior averaged 15.4 ppg and finished in the top 15 in the conference in field-goal percentage, assists, free-throw percentage and steals.