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insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/11760994/2014-15-college-basketball-preview-maac?refresh=true2014-15 MAAC Projected Standings
1. Iona | 2. Siena | 3. Quinnipiac | 4. Saint Peter's | 5. Manhattan | 6. Canisius| 7. Marist | 8. Rider | 9. Fairfield | 10. Monmouth| 11. Niagara
Pay attention, because news moves quickly in the fastest Division I conference from last season, with an average of 68.8 possessions per game. The good news for Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference teams not named Canisius: Billy Baron, who had the highest offensive rating in the country (Doug McDermott was second), has graduated.
The bad news?
• A.J. English, the only non-senior named to the 2014 All-MAAC first team, is back for his junior season at Iona.
• Siena, which allowed the second-fewest points per possession (1.02) in conference games, returns all its starters.
• After originally committing to Oklahoma, stud junior college transfer point guard Giovanni McLean is headed to Quinnipiac. Manhattan gets a high-profile transfer of its own in 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Jermaine Lawrence from Cincinnati.
• After finishing seventh in the MAAC, Saint Peter's is trending upwards with key returning scorers and the addition of freshman guard Elisha Boone, the 13th-best player in New York for the class of 2014, according to ESPN's Recruiting Nation.
Got all that?
The common theme is that one of the best mid-major conferences will continue to put talent on the floor and have parity in the upper half of its standings.
"It's the joy of coaching at this level," said Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore, whose team is entering its second year in the MAAC. "When I was an assistant at UConn, when you're at a program of that level with the players to match, you sometimes lost them before they fully hatch. We had guys leave early when I was there and sometimes you feel a little cheated that you didn't get to enjoy the third and fourth year of those guys. At this level, the hard work of the first three years pays off."
Or at least, that's what conference favorite Iona hopes is the case.
From an offense that produced the best in-conference points per possession (1.19), effective field goal percentage (58.0) and turnover percentage (14.5), the Gaels welcome back English and senior forward David Laury.
The return of English and Laury should outweigh the graduation of All-MAAC leading scorer Sean Armand and guard Tre Bowman, if last season's numbers are any indication. In 2013-14, English and Laury were the team's major contributors as defined by kenpom.com as players who use 24-28 percent of the team's possessions, as opposed to Armand who was at 20-24 percent and Bowman who fell in the 16-20 percent range.
Perhaps the area that could push Iona from the NIT to NCAA tournament is an improved defense, as the Gaels allowed 1.06 points per possession last year in conference play, good for sixth in the MAAC.
The team that beat Iona in the MAAC title game, Manhattan, will need to rely on some new faces this season. The Jaspers lose three 1,000-point career scorers, most notably George Beamon, who averaged 19.7 points per game. On a team with four freshmen and five sophomores, including Lawrence from Cincinnati, coach Steve Masiello -- undergraduate degree in hand -- will try to bring the same effective defense from last season. The Jaspers' ranked first in points allowed per possession (0.95), defensive effective field goal percentage (44.3), turnover percentage (22.9), block percentage (16.3) and steal percentage (12.1). But if Manhattan's young talent can't produce, Siena could slip into this conversation. In Jimmy Patsos' first season at the helm the Saints finished 11-9 in conference.
"We have five starters returning, but there's still a lot to work on," Patsos said. "We just happened to finish really strong last season."
That strong finish included winning the College Basketball Invitational behind strong play from the Saints' two most effective scorers, Rob Poole and Brett Bisping.
"We feel good about ourselves," Patsos said. "The momentum is good. The players know what it takes to win. But the bad news is we're not sneaking up on anybody. They know who we are now."
Patsos recognizes the need raise his team's offense to the level of its defense in his second season. Siena's effective field goal percentage of 46.5 in MAAC games ranked second to last in the conference last season compared to an effective field goal defense that was second.
"Our defense kept us in games," Patsos said.
Quinnipiac announced its arrival to the conference by finishing third in the regular-season standings with a 14-6 record.
"Last year taught us we belong in this league," Moore said.
The Bobcats could be headed toward a similar finish, led by seniors Zaid Hearst (15.5 points per game) and Ousmane Drame (13.7).
"I think we have two of the best players in the league with Hearst and Drame," Moore said. "Hearst might be more driven to get to the NCAA tournament than any kid I've coached. When the horn went off in our loss to Yale (which ended in a buzz-beating 3-pointer in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament), he realized he has just one more year and one more chance. He's putting a lot of good pressure on himself and everybody else and that's why I named him a captain."
The biggest gaps come from the departure of forward Ike Azotam and guard Umar Shannon. Moore said he is hopeful McLean, who averaged 16.8 points and 7.4 assists at Westchester Community College, can take over for Shannon. McLean originally committed to Oklahoma, but eligibility issues broke up that possibility.
Saint Peter's most highly-touted newcomer, Boone, had the highest scout grade, 71, of any MAAC signee for the class of 2014, according to ESPN's Recruiting Nation. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard turned down offers from Drexel and George Mason to be a Peacock.
He is joined by four returning starters, who were part of the worst shooting team in the MAAC last season, as Saint Peter's recorded a 45.2 effective field goal percentage in conference games.
Canisius, which finished fourth last season with a 14-6 record, might experience one of the greatest drops this season with the departure of coach Jim Baron's son, Billy. The Golden Griffins lose four starters and will have just four upperclassmen this season.
After scoring the fifth most points per possession and allowing the fourth least in conference games last year, Marist and its host of returners look to make a push this season, while Rider, Monmouth and Fairfield hope to make strides. Niagara lost the nation's leading returning scorer when guard Antoine Mason, who averaged 25.6 points, transferred to Auburn over the summer.
2014-15 All-MAAC team
Jr. G A.J. English
Jr..G Chavaughn Lewis
Sr.F David Laury
Sr. F Ousmane Drame
Sr. F Zaid Hearst Sr.
And I'm sure the same B.S. is going on in Minnesota! 
