Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball picked ninth at Media Day
10/26/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 26, 2010
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Southern Illinois was picked to finish in ninth-place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings this year, in a poll conducted by coaches, media, and sports information directors, and announced Tuesday at the league's annual Media Day.
On paper, you can see why pollsters picked Southern to be a second-division team. The Salukis return two starters, having lost their starting back court from a team that finished 6-12 in the league last year.
Senior guard Justin Bocot, who represented the team at Media Day, said the prediction doesn't jibe with what he's seen from Southern's team in practice so far.
"When our guys heard where we were picked, we all said this is wrong -- this isn't where we should be picked," Bocot said. "It kind of hurts when you're picked that low, but it also motivates you. I think we're going to give people a run for their money in this conference."
The Salukis will be led Bocot and senior forward Carlton Fay, who averaged 12.0 points per game last year and emerged as one of the league's most dominant players down the stretch, scoring 20.3 points per outing in the final four contests.
They will be joined by All-Freshman Team center Gene Teague, who developed into an intimidating post presence in the second half of last season. Also returning are a supporting cast of experienced guards including seniors John Freeman and Jack Crowder, plus sophomore point guard Kendal Brown-Surles.
A host of newcomers, including three junior college transfers, will also infuse fresh talent into the Saluki lineup.
Wichita State, which returns four starters from a team that won 25 games last year, was picked to win the men's basketball title in 2010-11.
The last time the Shockers were picked to win the league was in 2003-04 and they last earned the league's regular-season title in 2006. Pollsters have accurately predicted the league's regular-season champ only 12 times out of 26 since 1985-86, but the pre-season favorite Shockers can take solace in the fact 23 of those 26 predicted champs have gone on to post-season play, with 16 playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri State was picked second and returns its top seven scorers. The Bears won 24 games last year and claimed the league's first post-season tournament title, winning the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
UNI was pegged for third place and returns eight letterwinners and two starters from last year's squad that reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and won a school-record 30 games.
Creighton came in fourth in the pre-season rankings. For the first time in 17 years, the Bluejays have a new man on the sideline, as Greg McDermott takes over for Dana Altman, who left Creighton after 16 seasons as head coach. The Bluejays are one of just 10 schools nationally who have made a post-season tournament in 13 consecutive seasons.
Bradley was the fifth-place pick in the poll, and had three of the 11 players on the pre-season team. Sam Maniscalco, Taylor Brown and Andrew Warren combined to average 41.0 points per game for the Braves.
Illinois State was picked sixth in the pre-season rankings,. The Redbirds have two returning starters, but lost their top three scorers. Notably, ISU has won more games than any other Valley team in the past three years, as Tim Jankovich has compiled a 71-31 mark in his first three seasons at ISU.
Indiana State also returns just two starters from last year, and the Sycamores are picked to finish seventh in this year's MVC basketball race. Greg Lansing takes over as head coach after spending the last eight seasons as an assistant under Kevin McKenna.
Drake was tabbed for eighth place. The Bulldogs return three returning starters for Mark Phelps, and they have had the top-rated recruiting class in each of the past two seasons according to ESPN.com.
Evansville returns four starters and eight of its top nine scorers, led by CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshman of the Year Colt Ryan. Ryan is on the league's pre-season honorable mention unit and is the Missouri Valley's top returning scorer after averaging 14.5 points per game last year.
2010-11 MVC Preseason All-Conference Team
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, UNI, G, 6-2, 213, Sr., Oakdale (Minn.) Tartan High
Kenny Lawson Jr., Creighton, C, 6-9, 250, Sr., Oceanside (Calif.) Vista High
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley, G, 6-0, 175, Sr., Chicago (Ill.) St. Patrick High
Toure' Murry, Wichita State, G, 6-5, 197, Jr., Houston (Texas) Klein Forest High
Kyle Weems, Missouri State, F, 6-6, 232, Jr., Topeka (Kan.) Highland Park High
Honorable Mention: Taylor Brown, Bradley; J.T. Durley, Wichita State; Adam Leonard, Missouri State; Colt Ryan, Evansville; Seth VanDeest, Drake; Andrew Warren, Bradley.
Preseason Player of the Year -- Kenny Lawson Jr., Creighton
MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) / Total
1. Wichita State (33) ... 382
2. Missouri State (1) ... 313
3. UNI (3) ... 289
4. Creighton ... 282
5. Bradley (2) ... 264
6. Illinois State ... 165
7. Indiana State ... 136
8. Drake ... 121
9. Southern Illinois ... 120
10. Evansville ... 73
