SOMERSET, N.J. - The Monmouth University men's basketball team was selected tenth in the 2011 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. Defending champion Long Island was picked to repeat as NEC champion by the league coaches. The announcement was made on Wednesday morning during a media teleconference to promote the tipoff of the 2011-12 season, the 31st in the league's history. The Blackbirds, who won the 2011 NEC Tournament crown with an 85-82 overtime victory over Robert Morris, claimed 10 of the possible 12 first-place votes.

Robert Morris, which just missed a third straight NEC Championship, was tabbed second with the final two first-place votes, followed by Central Connecticut State in third. Wagner and Quinnipiac, last year's preseason favorite, rounded out the top-five.

Mount St. Mary's, Bryant, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Monmouth occupied spots six through ten, while St. Francis (N.Y.) and Fairleigh Dickinson rounded out the preseason predictions ranked 11th and 12th, respectively.

It is the start of a new era at Monmouth with the arrival of King Rice, a former standout guard at North Carolina, who takes over as the fifth head coach in program history. Upon setting foot onto the West Long Branch campus, Rice indicated a change in the team's style of play would be forthcoming, namely a more up-and-down approach to take advantage of his team's athleticism.

Senior Mike Myers Keitt enjoyed somewhat of a career rebirth last season when he led the Hawks in both scoring (10.1 ppg) and make three-pointers (39).  Long, lanky and with the ability to get out on the break, Myers Keitt will likely be a beneficiary of the team's new offensive approach. Junior forward Ed Waite is one the NEC's strongest and most physical players. Waite, at 6-3 and 215 lbs., is the team's leading returning rebounder (5.9 ppg) and second-leading scorer (9.2 ppg). Junior forward Marcus Ware missed the 2009-10 season with an injury, but was healthy enough last season to average 7.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg to claim NEC All-Rookie accolades. Senior Will Campbell (8.6 ppg) and Jesse Steele (8.9 ppg) are a pair of outside shooting threats.

Conducted annually, NEC coaches have failed to correctly forecast the eventual league champion since selecting Mount St. Mary's to win it all in 1998-99, and have proven inaccurate in 22 of the last 24 years. After its 1999 tourney win, Mount St. Mary's was the choice to repeat the following season, but Central Connecticut State, tabbed third, captured the championship. CCSU was then installed as the favorite in 2000-01, but the title went to Monmouth, picked sixth in the preseason. Monmouth received the nod in 2001-02, but it was CCSU, predicted fourth, which went on to win its second title in three years. In 2002-03, NEC coaches continued their trend of selecting the previous year's champion as preseason favorite when they went with CCSU, only to have Wagner earn its first-ever NEC Tournament crown. Three years ago, it was Quinnipiac that was placed on the preseason perch, but the Bobcats struggled all season and finished in 10th place. Monmouth garnered its third league crown that year after being selected third in the preseason. In 2004-05, the Hawks were the logical choice to repeat, and even won the conference regular season title, but were eliminated in the NEC semifinals as Fairleigh Dickinson went on to claim the championship. Fairleigh Dickinson was then installed as the 2005-06 favorite, but dropped a one-point decision to Monmouth in the title contest. Monmouth was picked first in 2006-07, but became the first defending NEC champion to fail to qualify for the tournament the following year. It was Sacred Heart's turn in 2007-08, and the Pioneers made it all the way to the title game for the second straight season, but came up short in a setback to Mount St. Mary's. The Mount nearly broke the streak in 2008-09, but the preseason favorites dropped a two-point decision to Robert Morris. Similarly, the Mount was again picked to win the prize in 2009-10, but suffered another semifinal loss to eventual champion Robert Morris.  Finally, Quinnipiac was the unanimous pick in 2010-11 only to have its season cut short in a last-second loss to Robert Morris in the NEC semifinals.

In conjunction with the release of the NEC coaches poll, the league's head coaches also selected the 2011-12 preseason All-NEC team. Reigning NEC Player of the Year Ken Horton, a senior forward for Central Connecticut State, leads the five-man team. Horton is joined by a pair of Long Island junior forwards in Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere, while Quinnipiac senior guard James Johnson and Wagner senior guard Tyler Murray round out the squad.

Monmouth opens its 2011-12 campaign on Friday, November 11 with a road contest at Villanova at 7:00 p.m., before competing in the 2011 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.

About The Northeast Conference

Now in its 31st year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 12 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 23 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. Bryant will become the NEC's 12th member upon completion of the NCAA Division I reclassification process in 2012. For more information on the NEC, visit www.northeastconference.org.

2011 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll:
1. Long Island (10)