Men?s Basketball Preseason All-MAC Team Announced
Media can register for the 2007-08 men’s basketball media preview by clicking here.
CLEVELAND -- Ten of the league’s top men’s basketball players have been selected to the preseason All-MAC teams for the East and West Divisions as announced by the league office. Voting for the teams was conducted among members of the MAC News Media Association as well as the leagues head men’s basketball coaches.
The West Division representatives are Peyton Stovall of Ball State, Giordan Watson of Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan’s Carlos Medlock, Kashif Payne of Toledo and Joe Reitz of Western Michigan.
The East Division squad is comprised of Akron’s Jeremiah Wood, Mike Scott of Kent State, Miami’s Tim Pollitz and Ohio’s Leon Willams and Jerome Tillman.
The preseason All-MAC teams will be available for interviews at the conference’s Basketball Media Day, which is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 18 at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. The media portion of the schedule is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. Fans will also be able to watch the media preview live on the internet at www.mac-sports.com
Pollitz was named to the All-MAC First Team last season after leading the RedHawks to a MAC Tournament title and automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Pollitz finished MAC play ranked third in scoring (18.1 ppg) and second in field goal pct. (.629) and was the only MAC player to be ranked among the top five in both categories. He was also ranked among MAC statistical leaders in all games in scoring (16.1, 3rd), field goal percentage (.574, 5th), rebounding (5.6, 11th), defensive rebounds (3.73, 13th), offensive rebounds (1.91, 15th) and blocked shots (0.58, 15th).
Williams will enter his senior campaign having started each of the 94 games in his career. The Bobcat power forward has earned MAC postseason honors following each of his first three seasons, including Honorable Mention as a freshman and sophomore, and Second Team All-MAC honors as a junior. Williams finished ninth in the MAC last season with 14.4 ppg. and ranked second in the league in rebounds after pulling down 8.8 rpg.
Tillman will look to pick up where he left off a year ago after finishing seventh in the league in scoring (14.6 ppg.) and fourth in rebounding (8.2 rpg.). Tillman earned All-MAC First Team honors and was just one double-double behind the league lead with a team high 12. He scored in double figures in 29 of Ohio’s 32 games and reached double figures in rebounding on 12 occasions.
Wood led the Zips in rebounding (7.8 rpg.) and ranked third in scoring (10.3 ppg.) last season. He also led the Zips in both of those categories in the MAC Tournament (15.7 ppg. and 8.3 rpg.) ? helping them advance to the title game for the first time in program history. Wood was recognized for his performance at the MAC Tournament by being named to the All-Tournament squad.
Scott was the only Golden Flash to start in all 32 games, averaging 9.4 ppg. He ranked seventh in the MAC in rebounding at 6.4 per game and was named to the All-MAC Honorable Mention squad after the season.
Reitz is a two-time Second Team All-MAC and Academic All-MAC honoree and was 12th in scoring (13.9), third in rebounding (8.6), eighth in field goal percentage (.560), third in offensive rebounds (3.12) and second in defensive rebounds (5.47) in the MAC last season. Reitz was also named to the 2006-07 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America First team and became the first in WMU history and only the seventh first team honoree in MAC history.
Payne became the second Rocket ever to earn MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors last season and led the team with 4.2 assists per game (4th in MAC) and ranked third in MAC with 1.71 assist/turnover ratio. He averaged 10.7 points per game with 40.4 3PTFG% (19-of-47) in conference play.
Medlock has been the starting point guard for the Eagles since the first game of his freshman year. Has earned two varsity letters after playing in 46 career games, 45 as a starter. He has a 12.5 ppg. career scoring average and a 3.3 assist mark. His 75 career three-pointers ranks 16th in the EMU record book.
Watson was a First team All-MAC selection last season and will look to become just the fourth multiple first team All-MAC honoree in school history. He ranked second in the MAC in scoring last season and 47th nationally with 18.8 points per game. He also ranked sixth in the MAC with 4.16 assists per game and led the league in conference action with 19.8 ppg. Watson will enter the season as the league's active career scoring leader with 1,255 career points.
Stovall rounds out this year’s team after scoring 8.8 ppg and recording 2.6 rpg. for the Cardinals last season. He has scored 979 points in 90 career games and needs 21 points to become the 24th 1,000-point scorer in the 86-year history of BSU men’s basketball.
The Mid-American Conference Preseason All-MAC women’s basketball team will be announced tomorrow afternoon.
