RACERS AGAIN GET POLE POSITION IN OVC; MURRAY ST. PICKED 1ST; INDIANS TABBED FOR 6TH

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Murray State is the overwhelming choice to win another Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball championship this season.

The Racers, who have captured at least a share of nine of the last 10 OVC regular-season titles and won five of the last eight league tournaments, were revealed as the overwhelming preseason favorite during Wednesday's OVC Media Day at the Nashville Arena.

In a poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors, Murray State received the maximum 18 first-place votes (schools are not allowed to pick their own team).

"I think we'll be good," said Murray State coach Mark Gottfried. "I don't mean to be arrogant, but we think we can be good. I just don't know how good."

Most people expect the Racers to be very, very good. They return a stellar backcourt in seniors DeTeri Mayes and Chad Townsend. Mayes was second in the league in scoring last year at 21 points a game, with a school record 83 3-pointers. Townsend scored 13.3 points a game last year and set a school record with 212 assists.

Mayes, first-team all-OVC last year, was selected Wednesday as the league's preseason player of the year. Townsend, the MVP of last year's conference tournament, joined his teammate on the all-OVC preseason first team.

But Mayes and Townsend aren't the only reasons everybody expects the Racers to be loaded. Gottfried has added a nine-player recruiting class that is the most heralded in school history and features 6-foot-8, 240-pound Duane Virgil, rated as one of the nation's top junior-college players last year.

"Our team will be deep. I hope we're as good as I think we can be," Gottfried said. "It's nice to be picked No. 1. I hope we're there at the end. But you get in a league like the OVC and you're in for a war every night. It's a very competitive league."

Tennessee State, which suffered through an uncharacteristic down season last year, figures to be back up this year because the Tigers earned the other two first-place votes and were picked to finish second.

Austin Peay, which shared the OVC regular-season crown with Murray State last year, was tabbed to finish third.

Middle Tennessee was picked fourth, followed by Eastern Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee-Martin and Morehead State.

Three of the schools have new coaches.20Southeast Missouri begins its first season under Gary Garner; former Kentucky star and NBA player Kyle Macy takes over at Morehead State; and Scott Perry takes over at Eastern Kentucky.

Garner, who has a 248-163 career record at three schools, is coming off a fantastic run at Fort Hays State in Kansas. His last two Fort Hays teams were a combined 63-2 and won the NCAA Division II championship two years ago with an unbeaten season.

"I think we have some talent, but I don't know what it takes in this league. I don't know how good we'll have to be," said Garner. "I've seen some OVC games on TV but never in person. I'm really anxious to see the OVC teams and see how we stack up."

The Indians, 12-18 overall last year and 9-9 in the OVC, will build around 6-10 senior center Bud Eley and 6-4 senior forward Calvert White.

Eley, a first-team All-OVC pick last season and also a first-team preseason choice this year, ranked third in the league in scoring (17.9) and second in rebounding (10.3) last year. White, named a preseason honorable-mention choice, averaged 13 points a game.

"One of our biggest concerns is leadership within our team," Garner said. "If we get that, then I think we can compete."

Garner said he is not surprised with the Indians' ranking in the preseason poll.

"From what I've heard and talking to people, it's where I thought we'd be picked," he said. "And I think it's a good place to be picked."

After his playing career at Kentucky, which ended with a national title, Macy played seven years in the NBA. He has been a color analyst for UK's radio network the last five years. This is his first head coaching job.

"It has been kind of a drought at Morehead State the last few years but we're looking at the bright side," said Macy. "We're not blessed with a lot of talent. We're trying to lay the foundation to be successful for years to come."

Perry is also in his first head coaching job. He has been an assistant at Michigan the last five years.

"We have a rebuilding task at Eastern," Perry said. "Twenty years ago Eastern had a great tradition. We have to get back to that. I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Joining Mayes, Townsend and Eley on the all-OVC preseason first team are senior forward Reggie Crenshaw of Austin Peay and junior center Jason Johnson of Tennessee State.

PRESEASON POLL

Men

1. Murray St. (18) 162

2. Tenn. (2) 130

3. Austin Peay 120

4. Middle Tenn. 119

5. Eastern Ill. 101

6. SE Missouri 80

7. Tenn. Tech 58

8. Eastern Ky. 50

9. Tenn.-Martin 45

10. Morehead St. 35

Women

1. Eastern Ky. (17) 160

2. Tenn. Tech (3) 147

3. Austin Peay 114

4. Middle Tenn. 107

5. Eastern Ill. 97

6. Tenn. St. 78

7. Murray St. 74

8. Tenn.-Martin 47

9. Morehead St. 41

10. SE Missouri 35