Friday, October 14, 2011

BU tabbed as preseason favorite in America East; Partin named first-teamer

By Craig Meyer/DFP Staff

HARTFORD, Conn. -- For those around the Boston University men's basketball program, the past several months have been a time of rapid and fundamental change.

The Terriers first lost their leading scorer and reigning America East Player of the Year in forward John Holland, who graduated in May after spending the greater part of the last four years as the face of the BU basketball program.

A couple of months after Holland played his last game in a BU uniform, head coach Pat Chambers, on the heels of a NCAA Tournament appearance in just his second season on Commonwealth Ave., accepted the head coaching position at Penn State University, leaving the school with the task of searching for its third basketball coach in four years.

However, amidst all of this transformation, one thing has remained a constant for BU over the past half-decade -- lofty preseason expectations, a trend that continued Thursday as the Terriers were slated as the preseason favorite in the America East coaches poll.

It marked the fifth-consecutive year in which BU was the No. 1 team in the preseason poll.