PORTLAND, Ore. – Simon Fraser has been picked to finish ninth in a closely contested 2022-23 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll but Red Leafs head coach Steve Hanson isn't putting much stock in that.
 
"Pre-Season polls have little bearing on the end results in March," said Hanson. "Being the lone Canadian team in the NCAA, the early polls do not reflect the quality of our incoming recruits and transfers."
 
Hanson has strengthened his squad with a number of outstanding recruits. NCAA Division I transfers Eric Beckett, Georges Lefebrve, and Victor Radocaj and Div. II player Adam Parker have all joined SFU. Hanson also recruited Nigel Hylton of Toronto and local high school stars Tate Christiansen, Matthys Van Bylandt, and Jimmy Zaborniak.
 
"The GNAC is one of the toughest conferences on the continent and year after year, we are an 'Any Given Night' league and if last year didn't prove that, I don't know what else to say," said Hanson.
 
Hanson was referring to the Cinderella run enjoyed by Alaska, the surprise of Division II basketball last year. After entering the postseason with an 8-14 record, the Nanooks proceeded to win four straight games to win the GNAC championship and then upset Cal State San Marcos and Azusa Pacific to advance to the Division II West Region final. The Nanooks have been picked to finish 10^th in this year's Coaches Poll.
 
Simon Fraser is picked ninth after finishing seventh last year, one win short of a winning overall record at 12-13. The Red Leafs averaged 72.8 points per game while ranking fourth in the conference with 35.8 rebounds per game. The team returns eight players and two starters, led by junior guard David Penney and senior guard/forward Jahmal Wright. Penney averaged 10 points per game and was third in the GNAC with 4.6 assists per game. Wright averaged six points per game.

"We believe our worth will be shown on the court and our team is excited to get started," continued Hanson. "We expect our young team to learn fast and be in the thick of the playoff picture come February and March."

SFU has two preseason road games against Victoria (Oct. 22) and UBC on Friday Oct. 28 at War Memorial Gym for the Buchanan Cup. Tickets to the game at UBC can be purchased here
Saint Martin's has been picked to repeat as GNAC champion but the early returns say that it won't come easy. The Saints were among five teams to receive first-place votes.
 
The 2022-23 GNAC men's basketball season commences on Friday, Nov. 11 with nine of the conference's 10 teams in action. Conference play begins with four contests on Thursday, Dec. 1. The 2022-23 GNAC Championships take place March 2-4 on the campus of Western Washington University.
 

2022-23 GNAC PRESEASON MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Pos.	Team (1st Place Votes)	2021-22 Record	GNAC Record (Place)	Pts.
1.	Saint Martin's (3)	18-9	11-6 (1st)	81
2.	Northwest Nazarene (2)	12-9	10-5 (2nd)	78
3.	Montana St. Billings (3)	13-15	9-8 (4th)	69
4.	Western Washington (1)	14-14	7-10 (8th)	66
5.	Seattle Pacific	14-13	7-8 (6th)	60
6.	Alaska Anchorage	14-9	9-6 (3rd)	53
7.	Central Washington	17-9	9-7 (5th)	52
8.	Western Oregon (1)	9-18	6-10 (9th)	48
9.	Simon Fraser	12-13	7-9 (7th)	23
10.	Alaska	14-15	5-11 (10th)	20
Votes awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Conference finish order in 2021-22 determined by Points Ratings System

 
-- With files from GNAC communications