Coaches pick Trojans

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 17, 2008 1:46 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive enters a new era in men's basketball this season, but some things remain constant.

The Trojans, the reigning Conference Carolinas regular-season and tournament champions, are picked once again to rule the 11-team league this season. Mount Olive received eight first-place votes and 98 points on the ballot.

"It's exciting to be the preseason number one, but we haven't played a game yet," said new MOC head coach Joey Higginbotham.

Barton, the 2007 NCAA Division II national champion, was picked second in the poll. The Dogs return 14 players off last year's team, which posted 19 wins and ended up third in regular-season conference play.

In-state rival and perennial power Pfeiffer University was picked third ahead of Belmont Abbey, which received the other first-place vote. Queens University, an NCAA East Regional participant last season, was tabbed fifth.

Rounding out the poll are Anderson University, Limestone, Coker, Erskine, Lees-McRae and St. Andrews.

"With the league, I think one difference is the upper teams (in the poll) have more experienced players," said Higginbotham. "I also think, as a whole, the conference will be better than it was last year. Some of the teams toward the bottom were young last year, but have another year of experience.

"Anderson is ready to make a breakout year with a seasoned freshman class."

Mount Olive returns Kendrick Easley, a preseason All-American selection by Street and Smith magazine and the reigning Conference Carolinas tournament MVP. Easley averaged nearly 17 points a game.

Also back is senior point guard Justin Melton, who dished out four assists per game a year ago. He's joined by junior guard Mike Holloman, who dumped in nearly nine points a game in 2007-08.

Sophomore forward Craig Hayes is expected to replace Streeter, who was the Conference Carolinas player of the year. Holloman played in all 31 games and shot a crisp 58.1 percent from the field.

"We'll have a different look (this year) ... need to fill some holes in our frontcourt," said Higginbotham. ""We won't have a physical presence like Brandon (Streeter), so we'll have to do it by committee this year. Our guys are working hard."

The Trojans won 24 games last season and made their fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II East Regional. They're ranked No. 18 in the 2008-09 preseason Division II Bulletin top 25, released earlier this week.

Mount Olive will scrimmage Wake Forest on Nov. 6 in Winston-Salem. It's the third time in the last five years that the Trojans have faced an Atlantic Coast Conference team in the preseason.

"It's a great opportunity to play against great players and phenomenal coaches," said Higginbotham. "Our guys are excited to have that opportunity. It will make us better and hopefully we can make them better, too."