Edgar's team picked fifth as he enters his second year

~ Southeast returns four starters from last year's 11-20 team.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State basketball coach Scott Edgar really can't disagree with the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll that has his Redhawks picked fifth.

But with the unpredictable nature of a mid-major league like the OVC, Edgar doesn't see why the Redhawks can't be in the mix for the top spot in the standings.

"I think there's legitimacy to it [being picked fifth]. It's about where I thought we'd be," Edgar said during Wednesday's OVC media day. "The teams picked above us finished ahead of us last year and have a lot of all-conference players returning.

"But there's always uncertainty because all the coaches know how close the majority of the games were. I certainly feel that we will be in the mix in a very balanced league."

In Edgar's first season last year, Southeast went 11-20 overall and a sixth-place 9-11 in the 11-team conference.

That was a significant improvement from the Redhawks' 10th-place OVC finish in 2005-06, when they won four league games and were 7-20 overall.

Edgar said he hopes the Redhawks can seriously contend for the OVC championship, and he believes he has solid pieces in place. But he also cautions that Southeast is still in only its second season under his system.

"I'd like to think so. I'd like to expect to," Edgar said when asked if the Redhawks can compete for the OVC title. "That's one of the reasons I wanted the Southeast Missouri job. There are championship expectations there.

"I like my team. I think there are a lot of pieces back. But we're still in year two now. As I begin practice, we only have two seniors out there. I've told our team we just want to be our best each day. That's how we grow our foundation."

The Redhawks return four starters, including their leading scorer in senior forward Brandon Foust and fellow double-figure scorer in senior swingman David Johnson. The team begins practice Friday night.

Senior center Mike Rembert, who led the Redhawks in rebounding last year and was their No. 3 scorer, will miss the early part of the season with a knee injury. Edgar said he hopes to have Rembert back for the start of OVC play in December.

The other returning starter is sophomore point guard Roderick Pearson, while some key backups return and Edgar expects contributions from several newcomers, including sophomore forward Calvin Williams, a Colorado transfer.

Edgar said he would like to rev up his fast and furious style even more this year, although he knows the Redhawks need to cut down on their turnovers and improve their defensive performance.

Southeast averaged the most turnovers in the OVC last year (17 per game) and ranked last in the league in scoring defense (76.9 points per game) and field-goal percentage defense (47.7).

All three figures ranked in the bottom 25 among the nation's 325 Division I teams.

Edgar and the other OVC coaches said they couldn't argue much with defending champion Austin Peay being picked to repeat, as the Govs return all five starters from a team that won the title by three games.

Austin Peay received 19 first-place votes (and 199 points) from the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

"Yeah, with everybody back, and quite honestly they were dominant in our league," Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer said.

Said Austin Peay coach Dave Loos of being the favorite: "I hope our mindset, with our players, is it doesn't matter one way or another. It does create some excitement, but I am curious how they'll handle it."

Eastern Kentucky, which finished in a three-way tie for second last year before beating Austin Peay by a point in the finals of the OVC tournament, was picked second with one first-place vote.

"Obviously a lot of things have to go your way if you wind up in the NCAA tournament," Neubauer said. "We've tasted that success. Hopefully that taste remains in their mouths."

Tennessee Tech and Murray State, the others in last year's three-way tie for the runner-up spot, were selected third and fourth. Tech received the remaining two first-place votes.

"Yeah, Austin Peay's got all their guys back, it's sort of the logical progression," Tech coach Mike Sutton said. "But I don't think anybody will give them anything."

No doubt about that, Edgar said.

"They're the early favorite, but things change a lot," he said.