Oct. 7, 2009

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State men's basketball team was ranked seventh in a Division II preview poll conducted by The Sporting News, released this week. The Lakers are the lone GLIAC school ranked in the top-10 and are one of two teams from the Midwest Region ranked in the preview.

Bellarmine, also from the Midwest Region, is slotted first in the country, followed by BYU-Hawaii, Central Missouri, Valdosta State, and Bentley. Indiana (PA) is in sixth place ahead of the Lakers. Humboldt State, Cal Poly Pomona, and St. Cloud State round out the top-10.

GVSU returns four starters and seven letterwinners to a team that went 21-10 last season with a 14-8 record in GLIAC play. The Lakers finished second in the North Division and made their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Grand Valley State brings back a pair of double-digit scorers, as juniors Justin Ringler (12.2 ppg.) and Toreau Brown (10.2 ppg.) return as two of the team's veteran starters, as GVSU does not have a senior on its roster.