Guilford Tabbed #2 by The Sporting News

Tyler Sanborn Amongst Five Preseason All-Americans

GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Guilford College's men's basketball team is ranked second in The Sporting News' College Basketball Magazine Top-10 Poll, which is available on newsstands. Two-time defending national champion Washington University in St. Louis, which defeated Guilford in last year's NCAA Division III national semifinals, earned the poll's top spot.

Coach Tom Palombo's Quakers return three starters among 14 letter winners from last year's 26-6 club that defeated Franklin & Marshall College to finish third in the Division III Tournament. The Diplomats are ranked fourth in The Sporting News Poll, just behind defending national runner-up Richard Stockton College. The College of Wooster is ranked fifth, followed by the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, John Carroll University, DeSales University, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Brooklyn College.

Guilford center Tyler Sanborn (Elkin, N.C./Elkin), one of five individuals tabbed as preseason All-Americans by The Sporting News, returns after a breakout season in which he collected Fourth Team All-America and South Region Player of the Year honors from D3hoops.com. Sanborn, a 6-10 center, averaged 15.4 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game as a junior and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament Sectional at John Carroll University.

The Quakers also return the senior backcourt tandem of Rhett Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C./North Forsyth (Presbyterian)) and Clay Henson (Glen Alpine, N.C./Freedom). Bonner averaged 16.5 points per game and captured Second Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) honors a year ago. Henson, a First Team All-ODAC pick, led Guilford's scorers with 18.8 points per game and set school records for three-pointers in a career (189) and season (95). He starts his senior season ranked 23rd in school history with 1,128 career points.

Palombo brings a 117-53 Guilford record into his seventh season with the Quakers. The three-time Bob Johnson ODAC Coach of the Year has taken Guilford to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. The Quakers won the 2008 ODAC Tournament title and regular-season league crowns in 2008 and 2009. Guilford opens the 2009-10 campaign Nov. 17 against visiting Methodist University at 7:00 p.m.

2009 Sporting News Division III Top-10 Poll
1. Washington (Mo.)
2. Guilford
3. Richard Stockton
4. Franklin & Marshall
5. Wooster
6. Massachusetts-Dartmouth
7. John Carroll
8. DeSales
9. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
10. Brooklyn

2009 Sporting News Division III Preseason All-Americans
Darnell Braswell, DeSales University
Santini Lancioni, Richard Stockton College
Tyler Sanborn, Guilford College
Aaron Thompson, Washington University
Sean Wallis, Washington University

This release is courtesy of the Guilford College sports information department.