Kent State Picked First In MAC Preseason Poll
11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Justin Greene named to East Division Preseason All-MAC Team
KENT, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll was released on Wednesday (Nov. 2) with two-time defending regular season champion Kent State picked to finish first in the East Division and win the 2012 FirstEnergy MAC Tournament as was voted upon by a 24-member MAC News Media Panel. In addition the Golden Flashes senior forward Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was named to the preseason All-Conference Team.
"To be picked first is a compliment to our team and our staff for what they accomplished last year," said Rob Senderoff, who is beginning his first year as Head Coach after being a member of the Golden Flashes coaching staff for seven seasons, including the last three as the Associate Head Coach.
"Unfortunately it doesn't matter where you get picked in the preseason because you still have to go out and prove yourself on the court. The league is really good and there could be an argument made for any team to be picked in any order. We just hope that at the end of the year we are in position to be at the top of the league."
As the only team in the country to return three of its conference's major award winners, Kent State's 2011-12 season is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated in school history. This year's team returns a core group of nine returning letterwinners that accounted for nearly 85 percent of the offensive production and 80 percent of the team's rebounding from a year ago.
Last year the 2010-11 squad went 25-12 and 12-4 (MAC) to become the first MAC team in 21 years and just the second in 48 years to win back-to-back regular season titles outright. All this with a team that featured just one senior and 10 newcomers to the line-up. The inexperienced group at the beginning of the year was anything but come time for the post season as the Golden Flashes stormed their way to the MAC tournament championship game and then onto the quarterfinals of the postseason NIT.
Kent State was followed in the East Division by Akron, Ohio, Miami, Buffalo and Bowling Green. On the West Division side Western Michigan is predicted to win the division. The Broncos are followed by Ball State, Central Michigan, Toledo, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan.
The reigning MAC Player of the Year, Greene returns to the post where he has led the team in scoring (15.4 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.4 bpk) for two second consecutive years. The 6'8" senior forward is one of only nine players in the country returning this season as a reigning conference player of the year. In 2010-11 he was named an AP Honorable Mention All-American while ranking sixth in the MAC in scoring, third in rebounds and fifth in blocks making him the only player in the league ranked in the top six in all three categories.
Joining Greene on the East Division preseason team are Akron's Zeke Marshall, Miami's Julian Mavunga Ohio's D.J. Cooper and Buffalo's Javon McCrea. The West Division preseason All-MAC representatives are Ball State's Jared Jones and Randy Davis, Flenard Whitfield and Demetrius Ward of Western Michigan and Trey Zeigler of Central Michigan.
Kent State fans can get their first look at the team on Monday, November 7 when the Golden Flashes host Rochester College at 7:00 pm. Admission is free. The season officially gets under way on Nov. 15 at West Virginia. Tip-off time is at 10:00 a.m. for the game, which will be televised live on ESPN as part of the network's fourth annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon.
If you can not catch the Golden Flashes on television be sure listen to all the games on the radio at WNIR 100.1 FM, your home for Kent State men's basketball. For ticket information contact the KSU ticket office at 330-672-2244.
East Division Predicted Order of Finish
1. Kent State - 132 points (16)
2. Akron - 104 points (8)
3. Ohio - 94 points
4. Miami - 80 points
5. Buffalo - 62 points
6. Bowling Green - 32 points
West Division Predicted Order of Finish
1. Western Michigan - 128 points (14)
2. Ball State - 111 points (9)
3. Central Michigan - 92 points (1)
4. Toledo - 76 points
5. Northern Illinois - 59 points
6. Eastern Michigan - 38 points
(1st place votes in parentheses)
Tournament Champion: Kent State (12), Akron (6), Ball State (3), Western Michigan (2), Central Michigan (1)
East Division Preseason All-MAC Team
D.J. Cooper, G, Ohio
Justin Greene, F, Kent State
Zeke Marshall, C, Akron
Julian Mavunga, F, Miami
Javon McCrea, F, Buffalo
West Division Preseason All-MAC Team
Randy Davis, G, Ball State
Jarrod Jones, F, Ball State
Demetrius Ward, F, Western Michigan
Flenard Whitfield, F, Western Michigan
Trey Zeigler, G, Central Michigan
