MACON, Ga. – The FGCU men's basketball team has been predicted in near-unanimous fashion to continue its Atlantic Sun Conference success in 2014-15 as the Eagles were selected to win the league, while Bernard Thompson has been tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Brett Comer was named the Facebook Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year and a unanimous selection to the 10-member Preseason All-Conference Team, while Jamail Jones also earned a spot on the team.
 
FGCU – coming off an A-Sun Tournament Championship in 2012-13 and A-Sun Regular-Season Championship in 2013-14 – garnered seven of the eight first-place votes in the coaches' poll (63 points), while the Eagles received 25 of 26 first-place votes in the media poll (207 points). FGCU is the only school with two unanimous All-Conference Team selections in Comer and Thompson, and is tied with North Florida for the most all-league selections with three.
 
"It's nice again for the team to be acknowledged and they're certainly great honors for Bernard, Brett and Jamail to be recognized," said second-year head coach Joe Dooley. "But it's important for us to remember that a very difficult non-conference schedule will hopefully prepare us for a 14-game regular season and conference tournament which will decide everything, and we've still got a lot of work to do."
 
The Eagles won the regular season last year courtesy of a 14-4 league mark and finished the season with an appearance in the NIT and a 22-13 overall record. UNF was picked second in the coaches' poll and third in the media poll, while Lipscomb was selected third in the coaches' poll and second in the media poll. UNF received the other first-place vote in each poll.
 
Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) enters his senior year already as FGCU's all-time leading scorer with 1,395 career points. The 6-3 wing led the Eagles and ranked fifth in the A-Sun last year with 15.1 points per game, and his 1.5 steals per contest paced the team. In addition to the all-time scoring lead, Thompson also enters his final campaign in the Green and Blue with a program-best 207 steals, just 53 thefts away from the conference career record (he's averaged 69 per season through his first three years).
 
An A-Sun All-Conference First Team and A-Sun All-Tournament Team member last year, Thompson set FGCU's Division-I record for points in a game with 32 at USF on Dec. 17, 2013. In addition to his scoring and defensive prowess, Thompson finished fourth on the Eagles' roster with 4.1 rebounds per contest last year and led the team by connecting at a 79-percent clip from the free-throw line. Thompson was named the 2013 A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year after finishing second in the nation with 102 steals as part of Dunk City's record-making Sweet Sixteen run as a 15 seed.
 
Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) received 298 Facebook LIKES to win the fan-voted award by more than 100 votes. The maestro of the FGCU offense, Comer set the all-time program assist record in the NIT first-round game against Florida State and enters his senior season with 609 career helpers, just 25 shy of setting the A-Sun career mark (633, Langston Hall – Mercer). Comer finished third on the FGCU roster last year with 13.7 points per game as the point guard increased his scoring average by 5.7 from his sophomore campaign.
 
Also an A-Sun All-Conference First Team and A-Sun All-Tournament Team member last year, Comer has led the team in assists in 94 of his 104 career games. Like Thompson, he enters his final year as a 1,000-point scorer with 1,065 career points.
 
Together, Comer and Thompson make up one of the most talented and experienced backcourts in the nation as the true seniors have combined to play in 206 games with 199 starts, in addition to 2,460 combined points, 801 rebounds and 799 assists.
 
Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy) is FGCU's leading returning rebounder as he grabbed 5.6 boards per contest in 2013-14. The versatile 6-6 combo guard finished last season strong as all three of his double-doubles came over the final eight games. Additionally, he scored in double figures nine of the final 10 games after reaching double-figure scoring just six times on the year before that closing stretch.
 
Last year, the Marquette transfer averaged 8.6 points and also contributed 23 steals as he played in all 35 games with 32 starts. Jones hit a huge baseline 3-pointer in FGCU's A-Sun semifinal tournament game against ETSU on Mar. 6 to open up a five-point Eagles' lead with less than a minute remaining.
 
Last year, FGCU was also picked to finish first in the preseason poll. In 2012-13, the Eagles were predicted for a third-place finish behind Mercer and USC Upstate, picking up three first-place votes. At the time, it was the highest-ever predicted finish for the Eagles, who are entering just their fourth Division-I postseason-eligible season in program history in 2014-15.
 
FGCU is the only program in Division-I history to have advanced to the championship game of its respective conference tournament in each its first three seasons of eligibility. The Eagles lost to Belmont in 2011-12, defeated Mercer in 2012-13 and lost a tight battle to Mercer – which is now a Southern Conference member – in 2013-14.
 
Fans in SWFL will have their first opportunity to see Thompson, Comer, Jones and the rest of the Eagles as part of Dunk City After Dark Presented by Coconut Point Ford and Naples Daily News, FGCU's Midnight Madness event which will be shown on ESPN3 next Friday, Oct. 17, beginning at 9 p.m. Admission is free, but a large crowd is expected. Fans can ensure a seat by purchasing a discounted $3 volleyball ticket as the Eagles will face Lipscomb in a crucial league matchup at 6 p.m.
 
Reserved tickets for the entire season have been sold out since September, and an extremely limited amount of general admission single-game seats are now on sale and can be purchased by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office, logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets or by calling 239-590-7145.
 
Preseason Player of the Year: Bernard Thompson, FGCU
Defensive Player of the Year: Bernard Thompson, FGCU
Facebook Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year: Brett Comer, FGCU (298 Votes)
Facebook Fan-Voted Defensive Player of the Year: Willy Kouassi, Kennesaw State (305 Votes)
 
Preseason All-Atlantic Sun Team
Position, Name, School, Year
*PG, Brett Comer, FGCU, Sr.
*G, Bernard Thompson, FGCU, Sr.
*F, Martin Smith, Lipscomb, Sr.
*G, Ty Greene, USC Upstate, Sr.
G, Jamail Jones, FGCU, Sr.
G, Delbert Love, Kennesaw State, Sr.
PG, J.C. Hampton, Lipscomb, So.
F/G, Beau Beech, North Florida, Jr.
F, Chris Davenport, North Florida, So.
G, Dallas Moore, North Florida, So.
* - Denotes unanimous selection
 
Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll
(1st Place Votes) Points
1. FGCU (7) 63
2. North Florida (1) 53
3. Lipscomb 51
4. USC Upstate 32
5. Northern Kentucky 24
6. Kennesaw State 23
7. Jacksonville 14
8. Stetson 13
 
Preseason Men's Basketball Media Poll
(1st Place Votes) Points
1. FGCU (25) 207
2. Lipscomb 161
3. North Florida (1) 154
4. USC Upstate 122
5. Northern Kentucky 101
6. Stetson 66
7. Jacksonville 65
8. Kennesaw State 60
 
For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the men's basketball program, follow @FGCU_MBB on Twitter and Instagram, and "Like" us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB.
 
FGCU is led by second-year head coach Joe Dooley, who coached three all-conference selections during his first season and guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT. Prior to arriving in SWFL, Dooley spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Kansas under head coach Bill Self. During those 10 seasons, Kansas produced 300 wins, nine straight Big 12 regular-season titles, six Big 12 Tournament championships, six NCAA Sweet 16s, five NCAA Elite Eight appearances and two Final Fours, including the 2008 National Championship.