PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Nine new faces will be on the court for the University of Pikeville men’s basketball team this season, but respect in the Mid-South Conference remains the same as the league’s coaches picked the Bears as the preseason favorites according to a poll released by conference officials on Friday.
UPIKE tallied 58 voting points in the poll and received three of the nine available first-place votes. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
Georgetown is second in the poll with 54 points and two first-place nods, Campbellsville rounds out the top three, matching the Bears in first-place votes, but collecting 52 total points.
Lindsey Wilson, voted fifth in the poll behind Cumberlands, collected the lone remaining first-place vote as they were spread out among the balanced league.
No starters return for Pikeville, including four NAIA All-Americans, which finished the 2013-14 season ranked fifth in the NAIA Postseason Top-25 Poll with a 31-3 overall record after losing in the second round of the national championship to St. Gregory’s (Okla.).
But sixth-man Kenny Manigault is back and poised to be a leader.
Although he came off the bench last season, Manigault played over 23 minutes per game and was fifth on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per contest. Of the Bears’ nine newcomers, three are NCAA Div. I transfers and another is a redshirt junior in Kevin Kornegay who’s had a season to learn head coach Kelly Wells’ system.
The biggest shoes to fill will be MSC Player of the Year Bruce Reed who poured in 18.2 points per game and collected 6.1 rebounds per contest. Team rebounding will also have to be an emphasis as Chris Cantino is gone as well after pulling down a team-best 10.1 boards per game.
UPIKE gets things started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday against Grace Bible (Mich.) at the East Ky. Expo Center.
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