Murray State University Athletics
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Racers top OVC pre-season poll, Pearson gets top player nod
10/12/2005 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Racers, who received 99 out of a possible 110 points, received nine first-place votes out of 11. Defending OVC Tournament champion Eastern Kentucky was picked second with 80 points (one first-place vote), while defending OVC regular-season champion Tennessee Tech was chosen third with 76 points. Samford was chosen fourth with 72 points (one first-place vote), while Tennessee State was picked to finish fifth with 70 points. Austin Peay was picked to finish sixth with 60 points, while Eastern Illinois was picked to finish seventh. Southeast Missouri and Tennessee-Martin were picked in a tie for eighth place, while Jacksonville State and Morehead State rounded out the selections.
Murray State head coach Mick Cronin thinks this year's Racers are more prepared for OVC play than last season's squad, who were also picked first in the pre-season polls and went 17-11 and 11-5 in the OVC.
"Being picked first this year seems more legitimate than last year," Cronin said. "It's more assuring knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are. Last year, we were trying to figure out what those were. This time around, we've got a lot better feel for what we have."
Pearson, from South Fulton, Tenn., was the Racers' leading scorer with 14.5 points per game, ranking him 12th in the OVC. Pearson was also among the league leaders in several statistical categories, including field-goal percentage (44.7 percent, eighth place), three-point field goals made per game (2.44, fourth), three-pointers made (66, fourth) and steals (52, fifth). Pearson also led the team in scoring in 13 games and enjoyed eight games where he scored 21 points or more.
"I think from a numbers standpoint, I don't see him scoring much more," Cronin said of Pearson, "but he's got to have more consistency. We can't get two points from him one night then 22 on the next night. If we go into a place like Samford and Trey has more turnovers than points, we're in trouble. But now, he's in better shape, he's more mature, and he has an understanding of what it takes to play basketball at the Division I level."
