[SEASON PREVIEW] Scott emphasizing pace of play in year two with Midway men's basketball

MIDWAY, Ky. - Akeem Scott has a pretty simple explanation for why he likes to play at a high pace.

"At the end of the day, it's a numbers game," said Scott, the second-year head coach of the Midway men's basketball program. "If we get up a lot more shots, we have a lot more opportunities for the ball to go in."

There were moments in Scott's first year where his high-octane style was executed to perfection. Midway scored 109 points in Scott's first game and would reach the century mark a program-record four times by year's end.

But there were growing pains as well, particularly when it came to ball control. Midway finished the year 10th in the River States Conference in turnovers per-game (13.3) and 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.92).

To fix this, returning players say there's been a huge push to improve conditioning, as endurance issues led to Midway struggling to finish in late-game scenarios. This was most notable in a February loss to Brescia, when the Bearcats stormed back from 22 points down to earn a 92-88 win.

"Last year we had Division-I teams on the ropes at halftime," senior forward Jalen Cincore said. "Even in conference we've had teams (behind more than 20 points) and we lost that lead. And we did that a lot even in practice last year (where) we would start off really engaged but as time went along we would tend to lose focus and it showed.

"We emphasized attention to detail this year. We are all locked in (and) everyone has stepped up to the challenge."

Cincore, a preseason All-River States Conference selectee, figures to be a top option for the Eagles again this year, after leading them in scoring with 18 points per-game in 2023-24. Cincore was also second on the team with 6.5 rebounds a contest, trailing only the 6.7 grabbed by fellow returning frontcourt mate Nick Keeton.

Other key returners include Robbie Henry and Will VanHook, who both played in 25 games a season ago, and Decoreio Smith, who showed great promise averaging 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in just six games.

"We have a lot of people who've played a lot of basketball together, which is hard to find in the River States," said Keeton, who enters the season second in program history with 453 rebounds.

Midway hopes that experience will mix well with incoming freshmen and transfers and improve its perceived standing in the RSC. In a preseason poll of league coaches, the Eagles were picked to finish ninth, a prediction that didn't sit well in the locker room.

"It became more personal for us, Cincore said. "We are trying to prove that we're a top-three team, but each day we attack it like we're a top-one. Like there's no one that can stand against us. And if we have that approach every single day and take it personal…we have a real chance."

That is a mentality preached heavily by the coaching staff. Though he also believes the Eagles will exceed expectations, Scott says his team can only chance perception on the court.

"Nothing's going to be given to us," Scott said. "You have to go earn that spot to be...higher in the rankings. I want to be able to...earn that right to (the No. 1 spot), earn that right to a national tournament bid. When you go out there and get those things accomplished, it means something more."

The Eagles begin the 24-25 season at home Saturday, when they host Cincinnati-Clermont at 3 p.m.