With eight lettermen returning including the top four scorers from the Southland Conference's 2009 West Division championship team, Sam Houston State appears poised to continue its run of successes under the direction of head coach Bob Marlin.

Marlin became the second coach to achieve 200 men's basketball victories in his Southland Conference tenure with Sam Houston's 18-12 record last year. His 200 victories rank him behind Mike Vining who rolled up a 383-291 record at Louisiana-Monroe from 1983 to 2005. Marlin's 200-112 mark in his 11 seasons ranks the Bearkats as the "winningest" program in the league since 1998-99.

Since the 2000 season, Sam Houston stands behind only the University of Texas in total victories for NCAA Division I men's basketball programs in the state. The Bearkats have finished among the top three teams in the Southland standings six of the last seven seasons.

The return of 57.3 of the team's 76.0 points per game during the 2008-09 campaign gives Marlin a strong foundation to build upon for 2010.

Any discussion of the Bearkats' outlook for the coming season starts with the highest scoring back court duo at Sam Houston in the program's 22 years at the NCAA Division I level. Corey Allmond and Ashton Mitchell combined for 27.8 points per game last year. The seniors each averaged more than 30 minutes per game to give the Kats experienced leaders on the perimeter.

Allmond, a 6-foot-1-inch transfer from Howard College, set a school record with 99 treys to rank No. 14 in the nation in three point shooting last year. He scored in double figures in 24 of 30 games including 14 performances of 20 or more points.

Mitchell, a 5-foot-11 three-year letterman from New Orleans, La., became the fifth point guard under Marlin to lead the Southland and rank in the top 10 nationally in assists. Mitchell ended the season No. 5 in the NCAA with 6.8 assists per game. He also added 12.5 points per contest. Allmond was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection and Mitchell was named to the second team last year.

The third returning starter is Preston Brown, 6-foot-6 senior forward who averaged 9.9 points and 4.9 rebounds last year as a transfer from Cowley County. He scored in double figures in 10 games last season.

Three other returning players saw extensive playing time as front line reserves.

Lance Pevehouse ranked as the team's fourth-leading scorer (9.1 points per game) and stood second on the team with 50 three-point baskets. The 6-foot-2 transfer from San Jacinto College scored in double figures in 11 games including a 23-point performance at UTEP.

Drae Murray averaged 13.8 minutes per contest as a true freshman in 2009. He totaled 64 assists and scored 5.9 points per game as Mitchell's backup at point guard. Josten Crow, a 6-4 two-year letterman, is one of the Bearkats' top defenders. Missing the first eight games of the season due to an injury, Crow bounced back to total more than 16 minutes a game in Southland action.

A total of eight lettermen return from the 2008-09 squad, including Arthur Zulu, Antuan Bootle and Marco Cooper. The Bearkats welcome five newcomers.