Men's basketball placed eighth in Summit poll
Western Illinois University Athletics Media Services
Issue date: 10/21/09 Section: Sports
Returning five letterwinners from last season's team, including three starters, the Western Illinois men's basketball team was picked eighth in the 2009-10 Summit League preseason poll as voted on by league coaches, SIDs and media, Tuesday.
Oakland was tabbed as the preseason favorite, earning 34 of 35 first-place votes for 520 total points. Oral Roberts was picked to finish second, IUPUI finished third with the only other first-place vote and South Dakota State was tabbed to finish fourth. North Dakota State was picked in the middle of the pack at fifth, IPFW, and Southern Utah followed, respectively. Behind Western, who had 176 total points, was UMKC and Centenary.
"We continue on in a rebuilding process," Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari said as he enters his second team with the Fighting Leatherneck team. "The process that we are continuing from last season is reflected in where we were picked in the league. We continue to work hard and get better every day."
With the graduation of Western's leading scorers David DuBois (17.9 ppg) and Josh Rivers (9.8 ppg), the Leathernecks' returning scoring leader is senior guard David Nurse, who averages 8.4 points per game. Last season, Nurse recorded 10 games with points in double figures and had five games as Western's top scorer and one as the top rebounder. He had a game-high 21 points in Western's first-ever win at IUPUI. Nurse experienced the most success of any Western player from the free throw line, converting 53-of-61 (.869) and finished the season with an .884 free throw percentage (38-43) in conference play, making him the fourth-best from the line.
In addition to returning Nurse, Western also returns sophomore starter Ceola Clark at guard. Clark entered the Western Illinois' record books last season with 50 steals, the ninth highest season total in school history. He recorded the third-most of any Summit League player and the league's second-best steals per game average (1.7). Clark had three games with 20 or more points and six double-digit scoring games recorded last season.
Western Illinois opens the 2009-10 season at Arizona State, Friday Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. and will face its first Summit League opponent in North Dakota State, Thursday, Dec. 3 at Waste Management Court at Western Hall.
Oakland was tabbed as the preseason favorite, earning 34 of 35 first-place votes for 520 total points. Oral Roberts was picked to finish second, IUPUI finished third with the only other first-place vote and South Dakota State was tabbed to finish fourth. North Dakota State was picked in the middle of the pack at fifth, IPFW, and Southern Utah followed, respectively. Behind Western, who had 176 total points, was UMKC and Centenary.
"We continue on in a rebuilding process," Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari said as he enters his second team with the Fighting Leatherneck team. "The process that we are continuing from last season is reflected in where we were picked in the league. We continue to work hard and get better every day."
With the graduation of Western's leading scorers David DuBois (17.9 ppg) and Josh Rivers (9.8 ppg), the Leathernecks' returning scoring leader is senior guard David Nurse, who averages 8.4 points per game. Last season, Nurse recorded 10 games with points in double figures and had five games as Western's top scorer and one as the top rebounder. He had a game-high 21 points in Western's first-ever win at IUPUI. Nurse experienced the most success of any Western player from the free throw line, converting 53-of-61 (.869) and finished the season with an .884 free throw percentage (38-43) in conference play, making him the fourth-best from the line.
In addition to returning Nurse, Western also returns sophomore starter Ceola Clark at guard. Clark entered the Western Illinois' record books last season with 50 steals, the ninth highest season total in school history. He recorded the third-most of any Summit League player and the league's second-best steals per game average (1.7). Clark had three games with 20 or more points and six double-digit scoring games recorded last season.
Western Illinois opens the 2009-10 season at Arizona State, Friday Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. and will face its first Summit League opponent in North Dakota State, Thursday, Dec. 3 at Waste Management Court at Western Hall.
Be the first to comment on this story