ROSEMONT, Ill. (10/15/14) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team was picked to finish third in the Horizon League preseason poll - voted on by the league's coaches, sports information directors and media members – while senior forward Juwan Howard Jr. was named to the preseason first team on Wednesday at the Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont.
 
Both Howard and head coach Ray McCallum attended the 2014 Media Day in the Windy City.

Green Bay was selected as the favorite to win the league with 32 first place votes and 357 points overall, while Cleveland State was picked to finish second with 335 points, including nine first place votes. Detroit was slated to place third with 239 points, while Valparaiso was picked fourth with 228 points.
 
Wright State is projected to finish fifth totaling 186 points, ahead of sixth-place and defending Horizon League Tournament Champion Milwaukee's 182 points. Metro Series rival Oakland was picked seventh (178), followed by Youngstown State (95) and UIC (45).

The last time Detroit was picked among the top-three of the Horizon League preseason poll was the 2012-13 season when the Titans finished second in Horizon League play with a 12-4 mark, 20-13 overall with a trip to the NIT.

Detroit returns a core of student-athletes who saw playing time in 30 or more games last season including Howard, who was named to All-Horizon League Second Team last year after averaging 18.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Jarod Williams also earned All-League honors by being named to the Rookie Team after starting 28 games in which he averaged 7.7 points and 2.0 assists per game.

The Titans welcome an impressive group of new faces to court this season as Patrick Ackerman, Paris Bass and Chris Jenkins will be eligible for competition after sitting out last year. Newcomers Aaron Foster-Smith, Jaleel Hogan and Youssoupha Kane as well as Brandan Kearney, who transferred from Arizona State, will also look to make an impact.

The Titans open with a pair of exhibition games on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8 against Siena Heights and Marygrove, respectively, before they tip-off their regular season on Friday, Nov. 14, vs. Rochester College at historic Calihan Hall.
 
Season tickets for the 2014-15 men's basketball team are now on sale. Don't miss a chance to have guaranteed priority seating to watch the Titans at historic Calihan Hall. For more information on season and general ticket information, click here or call the Detroit Ticket Office at (313) 993-1700.

The Titans will host their own media day next Wednesday, October 22, at noon in Calihan Hall. Media members are asked to RSVP with Jeremiah Hergott (jeremiah.hergott@udmercy.edu).