Men's Basketball Selected Fourth at OVC Media Day

The Murray State men's basketball team was projected in fourth place today at the Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Media Day, held in Nashville, Tenn. at LP Field.

In a vote of OVC head men's basketball coaches and sports information directors, Murray State garnered 149 points, while last year's regular-season champion Austin Peay was tabbed as the favorite with 199 total points.

The Racers, in head coach Billy Kennedy's second season, will go for their OVC-record 21st championship this season, a feat last accomplished during the 2005-2006 season. The Racers return three starters and a total of nine letterwinners back from last year's team, which finished with a 16-14 record and a 13-7 OVC mark, good for a three-way tie for second place in the conference.

The Racers will also look to extend another prestigious streak this season of finishing with a winning record, which they have done 20 years in a row. Only Syracuse (37 seasons), Oklahoma (27), and Kansas (24) have longer current streaks in Division-I men's basketball.

This season, the Racers will have several new faces on the bench, as assistant coaches Isaac Chew and Jamall Walker have joined the coaching staff, as well as director of basketball operations Josh Gibson. Assistant coach Steve Prohm returns for his second season as a Racer basketball assistant.

Having lost five letterwinners from a year ago, Murray State returns several players who have collegiate experience this season, including seven players who started at least two games last season.

Included in those seven players is senior guard Bruce Carter, who was one of ten players named to the All-OVC Preseason Team. Carter led the team in scoring last season with a 12.1 points per game average, and finished second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game. For his efforts, Carter was named second-team All-OVC and was an OVC All-Newcomer selection a year ago.

MSU also returns junior Tyler Holloway, who started 23 games in 2006-07 and was second on the team in scoring, chipping in 10.6 points per contest. Holloway led the team in minutes played (925 - 31.9 per game), three-point field goals made (55) and three-point field goals attempted (156). Holloway also was second in the OVC in free throw percentage with an 86.6 percent (58-for-67) clip.

Returning also is senior guard Ray George, who started 10 of his 19 games played last season as he joined the team prior to the spring semester. George averaged 7.8 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game in 2006-07.

Sophomore Tony Easley will look to build off his redshirt freshman year in 2006-07, where he played in 25 games, starting three, and shot 64.7 percent (33-for-51) from the field. Easley scored 3.1 points and grabbed 3.2 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game last season, and also led the team in blocks with 18.

Murray State also has three sophomores returning who all played last season as true freshmen, in Marvin Williams, Danero Thomas, and Georges Fotso. Williams started eight games for the Racers in 2006-07, and averaged 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game last season. Thomas started in eight games and appeared in 28 of the team's 30 games, averaging 5.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Fotso started in two games for the Racers, averaging 1.5 rebounds and 9.3 minutes per game.

Juniors Kevin Thomas and Jarad Key also return from last season, as both appeared in four games. Thomas made 60 percent (3-for-5) of his three-point attempts and averaged 3.5 points per game before re-injuring the knee that caused him to miss the first 11 games of the season. Thomas received a medical redshirt and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Key made one of his two field goal attempts on the season and provided a quality example off the court, earning the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll award.

The Racers welcome five new faces to this year's squad in Ivan Evans, Matt Fraliex, Jewaun Long, Isacc Miles, and Tarod Sanders.

Evans (6-4, 200) and Sanders (6-8, 250) are junior college transfers whose junior college teams combined to go 60-12 last season, and they will provide experience and bulk for the Racers, who include seven underclassmen.

Incoming freshmen guards Fraliex and Long also bring a celebrated history to the MSU program. Fraliex was one of the most prolific scorers in Kentucky, averaging 32.3 points as a senior at Caldwell County High School, while Long earned Mr. Tennessee basketball honors and helped lead his high school, Liberty Tech in Jackson, Tenn. to Class 2A State titles his junior and senior seasons.

Miles, who will sit out the 2007-2008 season under NCAA transfer guidelines, started 27 games for Creighton University last season, averaging 6.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game for the Blue Jays, and made the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman squad. Miles will be allowed to practice with the Racers during the 2007-2008 season.

The Racers Fan Jam event is scheduled for Oct. 27, from 10-11 a.m. at the Regional Special Events Center. MSU will open their exhibition season on Saturday, Nov. 3, when they host Bethel at 7:30 p.m. at the RSEC, while the first game of the 2007-2008 season is Nov. 10, a home game against Rider at 7 p.m.

Ohio Valley Conference Predicted Order of Finish

(As voted by head basketball coaches and sports information directors)

1. Austin Peay (19 first-place votes) 199 points

2. Eastern Kentucky (1) 166 points

3. Tennessee Tech (2) 160 points

4. Murray State 149 points

5. Southeast Missouri 131 points

6. Tennessee State 101 points

7. Samford 85 points

8. Eastern Illinois 75 points

9. Jacksonville State 61 points

10. Morehead State 50 points

11. Tennessee-Martin 33 points

2007-08 All-OVC Preseason Men's Basketball Team

Bruce Carter, Murray State, G, 6-4, 200, Sr., Detroit Mich.

Anthony Fisher, Tennessee Tech, G, 6-2, 180, Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.

Brandon Foust, Southeast Missouri, F, 6-6, 215, Sr., Columbus, Ohio

Adam Leonard, Eastern Kentucky, G, 6-0, 185, So., Lee's Summit, Mo.

Fernandez Lockett, Austin Peay, G/F, 6-5, 210, Sr., Madison, Ala.

Romain Martin, Eastern Illinois, G, 6-3, 180, So., Minneapolis, Minn.

Amadi McKenzie, Tennessee Tech, F, 6-7, 225, Sr., Atlanta, Ga.

Travis Peterson, Samford, C, 6-10, 240, Sr., Glendale, Ariz.

*Drake Reed, Austin Peay, F, 6-5, 235, Jr., Clarksville, Tenn.

Mike Rose, Eastern Kentucky, G, 6-3, 185, Jr., Chicago, Ill.

*OVC Preseason Player of the Year

Murray State University Athletics

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