Men?s Basketball In Cleveland For MAC Media Day

CLEVELAND, Ohio ? The Ball State men's basketball team moved one step closer to its Nov. 15 tip-off against Eastern Illinois on Thursday as the Mid-American Conference Basketball Media Day was held at Quicken Loans Arena.

Second-year head coach Billy Taylor and senior forward Anthony Newell (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) each had the opportunity to meet with media members from around the league.

Newell, who was named to the preseason All-MAC West Division Team, earned Honorable Mention All-MAC honors last season despite missing nine games due to an injury. He led the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game and in rebounding at 8.0 caroms per contest last season. He would have finished the season tied for the MAC lead in scoring and second in rebounding if he had appeared in enough games to qualify.

Newell scored in double figures in 19 of his 21 games last season, including six games of 20-plus points. He played in all 16 conference games for the Cardinals, averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, to rank second and third in the league, respectively. He enters the season as the Cardinals' most experienced player have seen action in 73 career games with 42 career starts. He enters his senior season having scored 798 career points and notching 463 career rebounds.

Also, Taylor announced the Cardinals' 2008-09 team captains this week. Earning the selections were Newell and his fellow seniors Brandon Lampley (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton), Rob Giles (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC) and Laron Frazier (Waukegan, Ill./Highland CC).

In addition to coach and player interviews with all 12 league teams, the league office announced its 2008-09 Preseason Poll as voted on by members of the MAC News Media Association.

Western Michigan was selected to capture the league's West Division title, picking 122 points. Eastern Michigan (122 points) was chosen second, followed by Central Michigan (79 points), Toledo (71 points), Ball State (55 points) and Northern Illinois (39 points).

Voting for the East Division saw Kent State come out on top, earning 122 points. Miami was second with 109 points, followed by Bowling Green (70 points), Akron (67 points), Ohio (66 points) and Buffalo (35 points).

The Golden Flashes were also the favorite to win the 2009 MAC Tournament title, earning 11 votes, followed by Miami (7), Bowling Green (2) and Eastern Michigan (2).

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Ball State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Laron Frazier

Rob Giles

Brandon Lampley

Anthony Newell

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