Mountaineers Ranked Fourth in Preseason CCC Men’s Basketball Poll
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, October 21st, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from Eastern Oregon University) The Cascade Collegiate Conference announced the results of the 2022-23 CCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll on Wednesday, Oct. 19. With the votes tallied EOU Men’s Basketball came in fourth in the preseason standings. Ranked first is the College of Idaho who received all but one first place vote, followed by Oregon Tech and Lewis-Clark State College.
“We put a lot more weight on postseason rankings than pre-season. The Cascade conference has a lot of very good teams, and it will be tough every night from top to bottom,” Coach Chris Kemp said. “I’m excited to see if we can challenge those top teams.”
Mountaineers Men’s Basketball will enter its second season of the Chris Kemp Era in the 2022-23 campaign. In Kemp’s first season the Mounties put together a winning effort going 18-13 overall and 12-10 in conference. Eastern was particularly strong at home going 10-3. EOU ended last season with a nail biter losing to the No. 3 team in the nation, Lewis-Clark State, in the CCC quarterfinals by one point, 58-57.
“We have a lot of work to do and are just trying to focus on getting better every day,” Kemp said.
The new season brings with it a large group of new faces that includes five freshman and seven transfers. Two of those transfers will be bringing NCAA Division I experience with them to EOU. Nate Pryor, a senior guard with a high basketball IQ and playmaking ability, joins the Mounties from New Mexico State where he was a member of a team that played in the NCAA Tournament. Emmit Taylor III, another guard, known for his shooting prowess, will also join the Mounties and add Division I experience. The grad-transfer formerly played at Idaho State. Those two along with several other key newcomers will look to join last year’s Newcomer of the Year and EOU’s only All-CCC selection Phillip Malatare in the upcoming season.
Eastern will kick off the season at home with NCAA Division III opponent Whitman College. The Mountaineers will take on the Blues on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. in Quinn Coliseum.
