The opening day of the 2009-10 season is upon us and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association kicks off the debate of who the top dogs will be this season with their annual preseason poll.

Defending 4A Champion Ben Davis tops the poll with 17 of 18 first place votes. The only remaining first place vote landed on No. 10 Elkhart Memorial, which could be a darkhorse in the rankings. Behind Ben Davis are No. 2 Carmel, No. 3 Jeffersonville, No. 4 Heritage Christian and No. 5 Mooresville rounding out the Top 5, while 2A Oak Hill, who battled valiantly at the state finals in its loss to Heritage Christian, comes in at No. 6.

Although the Giants lose two key players from last year's undefeated 4A champs (Alex Bentley to Penn State, DeAirra Goss to Western Michigan), head coach Stan Benge simply reloads with a deep, deep arsenal of talent that seems to have no end. Returning from last season's starting lineup are juniors Dee Dee Williams (7.6 ppg, 4.1 apg, 3.9 rpg), Vivian Holcomb (3.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and (right) sophomore Bria Goss (11.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg), who hit the game winner in the 4A state finals last March. Williams and Goss will be the heart of the Giants' offense this season.

In northwest Indiana, three teams received votes in the poll. Lake Central and Valparaiso boast Division 1 commited senior players who will be relied upon by their programs to see success in the upcoming months, while Michigan City has a strong contingent of juniors who are on the radar of a number of solid D-I programs. Signing Letters of Intent in the next few days will be two of NWI's strongest centers, Lake Central's 6'6 Andrea Kras (Western Michigan) and Valparaiso's 6'4 Stephanie Lang (Valparaiso).

Complete poll results are below and will be updated weekly as we receive them from both the IBCA and ICGSA on our polls page.

Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Official Poll Results - Preseason Poll Monday, November 09, 2009

Rank School Total Points Record 1st Place Votes 1 Ben Davis 359 0-0 17 2 Carmel 224 0-0   3 Jeffersonville 205 0-0   4 Heritage Christian 204 0-0   5 Mooresville 198 0-0   6 Oak Hill 190 0-0   7 Hamilton Southeastern 181 0-0   8 Fort Wayne Elmhurst 161 0-0   9 Plainfield 158 0-0   10 Elkhart Memorial 155 0-0 1 11 Fishers 139 0-0   12 Bloomington South 110 0-0   13 South Bend Washington 108 0-0   14 Rushville Consolidated 95 0-0   14 Terre Haute South Vigo 95 0-0   16 Warren Central 81 0-0   17 Decatur Central 78 0-0   18 Jay County 68 0-0   19 Evansville Reitz Memorial 63 0-0   20 Lafayette Jefferson 62 0-0   Other Schools Receiving Votes Anderson, Austin, Avon, Barr-Reeve, Bedford North Lawrence, Benton Central, Bloomington North, Center Grove, Columbus East, Connersville, Crawfordsville, Evansville Bosse, Evansville Mater Dei, Floyd Central, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne South Side, Garrett, Gibson Southern, Hamilton Heights, Huntington North, Jimtown, Kokomo, Lake Central, Lawrence North, Logansport, Marion, Martinsville, Michigan City, New Albany, Noblesville, North Central (Indianapolis), North Posey, Norwell, Owen Valley, Pendleton Heights, Penn, Perry Meridian, Pike, Plymouth, Roncalli, Scottsburg, Seymour, South Bend Clay, Southern Wells, Taylor, Turkey Run, University, Valparaiso, Vincennes Lincoln, Vincennes Rivet, Wabash, Wawasee, Westfield, Winchester Community, Yorktown,