ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference picked Wichita State's men's basketball team to finish the 2009-10 season in fifth place with the help of MVC preseason All-Conference team honorable mention players Clevin Hannah and Toure' Murry.
The Shockers will look to Hannah and Murry - both on this year's pre-season team as honorable-mention picks - to lead them this year. J.T. Durley joins the senior and sophomore electric guards as returning starters to give Wichita State its most experienced club under third-year coach Gregg Marshall.
Northern Iowa, which returns all five starters and nine of 10 players from last year's regular-season co-champ and State Farm MVC Tournament winner, has been picked to earn the Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball title in 2009-10.
The Panthers are a near unanimous pick to win this year, receiving 38 of 39 first-place votes in a poll conducted by league coaches, media, and sports information directors. UNI earned 389 out of a possible 390 points and outdistanced Creighton, which received the remaining first-place tally and 336 total points.
| Preseason Rank |
School (First-Place Votes)
|
Total |
| 1 |
Northern Iowa (38) |
389 |
| 2 |
Creighton (1) |
336 |
| 3 |
Illinois State |
299 |
| 4 |
Southern Illinois |
272 |
| 5 |
Wichita State |
216 |
| 6 |
Bradley |
208 |
| 7 |
Indiana State |
173 |
| 8 |
Drake |
105 |
| 9 |
Missouri State |
92 |
| 10 |
Evansville |
55 |
A pair of Panthers highlight the six-person pre-season all-conference squad, including senior Adam Koch and junior Kwadzo Ahelegbe. Koch averaged 12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds last year and was a first-team all-MVC choice in 2008-09, while Ahelegbe was a second-team all-conference selection and a member of the league's all-Defensive Team.
They are joined on the unit by Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge, Southern Illinois' Tony Freeman, Drake's Josh Young, and Creighton's P'Allen Stinnett. Eldridge, a first-team all-MVC pick a year ago and the State Farm MVC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, was chosen as the league's Preseason Player of the Year.
Pollsters have accurately predicted the league's regular-season champ only 11 times out of 25 since 1985-86, but the pre-season favorite Panthers can take solace in that 22 of those 25 predicted champs have gone on to post-season play, with 15 of those 22 playing in the NCAAs.
2009-10 MVC Preseason All-Conference Team Name, School, Pos., Ht., Wt., Year
-Kwadzo Ahelegbe, UNI, G, 6-2, 200, Jr.
-Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State, G, 6-3, 215, Sr.
-Tony Freeman, Southern Illinois, G, 6-1, 195, Sr.
-Adam Koch, UNI, F, 6-8, 255, Sr.
-P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton, G, 6-3, 180, Jr.
-Josh Young, Drake, G, 6-1, 174, Sr.
Honorable Mention: Kevin Dillard, Southern Illinois; Clevin Hannah, Wichita State; Jake Kelly, Indiana State; Sam Maniscalco, Bradley; Harry Marshall, Indiana State; Toure' Murry, Wichita State Preseason Player of the Year -- Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State
-Wichita State-
