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Athletic News
10/21/2009 -
Trojans Picked Second In Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
Mount Olive received three first-place votes and is picked second in the 2009-10 Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the conference head men’s basketball coaches. The Trojans garnered 91 points in the poll to finish three points out of first place.
Mount Olive returns three All-Conference Carolinas players, including preseason All-America and reigning Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Kendrick Easley. The 6-1 senior guard ranked among the national leaders last season with a 21.2 points per game scoring average, 84.9 free throw shooting percentage and 43.6 percent three-point field goal percentage. His 593 points last year ranks as the fourth-highest single-season scoring total in school history. He came within a field goal of matching a school single-game scoring record with 39 points against Pfeiffer last year.
Also returning are 6-4 junior forward Craig Hayes and 6-3 senior guard Mike Holloman, both of whom earned All-Conference honorable mention last year. Hayes averaged 13.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and was among the conference leaders with a 55.7 field goal percentage. Holloman, who played much of last season in the paint, averaged 10.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
The Trojans graduated two-time All-Conference point guard Justin Melton, who is now playing professionally in Brazil. But Mount Olive brings back 5-9 sophomore Derek Staton, who started eight games while Melton was recovering from preseason surgery. Staton averaged 7.1 points and 4.0 assists per contest last season.
Barton, which shared the 2008-09 regular season conference title with Mount Olive, picked up six first-place votes and finished first in the poll. The two remaining first-place votes were split between third-place Anderson and fourth-place Pfeiffer.
Mount Olive finished with an 18-10 record last year and won a share of its second consecutive Conference Carolinas regular season title with a 17-3 mark. The Trojans have reached the 20-win mark and earned an NCAA Tournament berth in five of the last six years, including an East Regional championship and a trip to the NCAA II Elite Eight in 2005.
Mount Olive tips off its 2009-10 season November 16 with a non-conference road game at Lenoir-Rhyne. The Trojans play host to the 44th Annual Pickle Classic November 20-21 at Kornegay Arena. This year’s Pickle Classic includes two teams that have won national championships during this decade, Virginia Union (2005) and Barton (2007).
The Trojans play their first Conference Carolinas game November 24 against St. Andrews, followed by a December 12 contest at Limestone. Mount Olive plays the remainder of its 20-game conference schedule after the first of the year.
Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll