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Sporting News Magazine Ranks Scots Men's Basketball in Top 10, Names Carius Preseason All-American

by Dan Nolan

Monmouth, IL (09/18/2019) — Monmouth College men's basketball coach Todd Skrivseth sees a double-edged sword after the Sporting News ranked his team in its national top 10 a month before practice begins.

"The preseason ranking is a surprise," said Skrivseth, who enters his ninth year as Monmouth's head coach. "I expect us to have a nice season, but I don't know that we'll even be picked to win our conference. Preseason polls are simply that, preseason. Nothing has been proven on the court and so much can change over the course of the year. It's a nice honor, but rankings don't win you a title."

The Sporting News, which also named Scots senior forward Will Carius (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) a first-team preseason All-American, ranked the Fighting Scots 10th in their preseason poll. The Scots got off to a slow start last season, then went on a 10-4 run after Jan. 1. Monmouth beat Midwest Conference champion St. Norbert on the final day of the season to qualify for the four-team league postseason tournament. The Scots finished the season 13-13.

The magazine cites the return of all the key pieces from the 2018-19 team, which was led by Carius (25.5 points, 11.0 rebounds per game). The returning group includes three other senior starters - Justin Batterton (Astoria, Ill./South Fulton), Tyler Houston (Knoxville, Ill./Knoxville) and Jake Rueter (Columbia, Ill./Waterloo-Gibault) - and two-year starter at guard, junior D.J. Swift (Lansing, Mich./Loy Norrix).

"Obviously, the year Will had plays a part, and of course, his selection as a preseason All-American," Skrivseth said of the ranking. "We had a very good second half of the season and return that group, plus we've added a few key guys. I think that all factored into the ranking."

Skrivseth knows what the pollsters think, but he's viewing the rankings in real time.

"It's such a fine line between success and failure, we can't lose sight of what we need to do in order to be successful and that's taking care of the details and the little things," said Skrivseth. "Right now, we haven't done anything on the court. It's nice to be recognized and we'll enjoy that for what it's worth before we get down to business."

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