Kent State Voted Third in MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
10/28/2014 2:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Kent State has been picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference East Division in the 2014-15 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, which was announced by the conference office Tuesday (Oct. 28) morning. Additionally, senior guard Kris Brewer was selected as part of the five-player MAC East Division Preseason All-MAC Team. Both the preseason poll and all-conference team were voted on by a 20-member MAC News Media Panel.
The Golden Flashes received 66 points in the poll and is picked to finish behind Akron and Ohio in the East Division. The Zips were selected as the pre-season favorite with 117 points and 17 first-place votes, while the Bobcats received 92 points and two first-place votes. In the West Division, Toledo was chosen as the pre-season favorite with 118 points and 18 first-place votes. The Rockets were also selected as the favorite to win the conference tournament, receiving 15 votes.
Head coach Rob Senderoff enters his fourth season leading the Golden Flashes. After guiding Kent State to back-to-back 21-win seasons and CollegeInsider.com Tournament appearances in his first two seasons, Senderoff led the Flashes to a 16-16 record last season. Seven letterwinners, including three starters, will return to the court for the Flashes this season.
A 6'3" guard from Memphis, Tenn., Brewer received Honorable Mention All-MAC recognition as a junior. Brewer started in 27 of 32 games last season and led the Flashes with averages of 11.8 points and 2.8 assists per game. He scored in double-figures in 20 games and led the Flashes in assists 12 times. In conference play, Brewer led the MAC with a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio and averaged 11.6 points, 3.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Kent State enters the season with one of the most experienced and productive backcourts in the MAC, as senior guard Derek Jackson and junior guard Kellon Thomas join Brewer as returning starters. That trio, along with senior guard Devareaux Manley, combined to score 38.7 points per game last season, which is 36th-highest scoring returning backcourt in the country. Brewer (11.8 ppg), Jackson (10.7 ppg) and Manley (9.7 ppg) provide the Flashes with their top three scorers from the previous season for the first time since 1999-00. Brewer and Jackson enter the season among the top 10 active MAC players in points, assists and steals, while Jackson and Manley rank among the top five in three-point field goals.
Juniors Chris Ortiz and Khaliq Spicer provide starting experience on the interior. Ortiz, a 6'8" forward, made 12 starts in conference play last season. Spicer, a 6'9" center who averaged a team-best 1.4 blocks per game, started nine conference games and is the team's top returning rebounder (3.8 rpg).
Three of the Golden Flashes' six newcomers have previous NCAA Division I experience. Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall was named MAC Preseason Newcomer of the Year by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. The 6'7" forward sat out last season after transferring from Hofstra, where he averaged 12.7 points and 9.4 rebounds over seven games during the 2012-13 season. Redshirt senior center Blake Vedder, who stands 7'4" and will be the tallest player in the history of the MAC, also sat out last season after transferring from Division II Indiana (Pa.). Vedder had previously spent two seasons at Rhode Island and appeared in 16 games for the Rams. Guard/forward Craig Brown joins the Flashes after averaging 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game at Rutgers last season. Brown earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers in August and is currently enrolled in graduate school at Kent State, which allows him to be eligible to play this season.
Kent State begins the season with a short road trip to Youngstown State on Saturday, November 15. The home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, November 18 against Malone as the first of four home games that week as part of the inaugural Men Against Breast Cancer Classic.
Season tickets are currently on sale and begin as low as $10 per game. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Ticket Office at 330-672-2244.
East Division Predicted Order of Finish
1. Akron - 117 points (17)
2. Ohio - 92 points (2)
3. Kent State - 66 points
4. Buffalo - 58 points
5. Bowling Green - 52 points (1)
6. Miami - 35 points
West Division Predicted Order of Finish
1. Toledo - 118 points (18)
2. Western Michigan - 94 points (1)
3. Eastern Michigan - 68 points
4. Northern Illinois - 63 points
5. Central Michigan - 49 points (1)
6. Ball State - 28 points
(1st place votes in parentheses)
Tournament Champion: Toledo (15), Akron (1), Bowling Green (1), Central Michigan (1), Ohio (1), Western Michigan (1)
East Division Preseason All-MAC Team
Demetrius Treadwell, Sr., F, Akron
Maurice Ndour, Sr., F, Ohio
Kris Brewer, Sr., G, Kent State
Richaun Holmes, Sr., F, Bowling Green
Will Regan, Sr., F, Buffalo
West Division Preseason All-MAC Team
David Brown, Grad., G, Western Michigan
Karrington Ward, Sr., F, Eastern Michigan
Julius Brown, Sr., G, Toledo
Chris Fowler, Jr., G, Central Michigan
Justin Drummond, Sr., G/F, Toledo
