ST. LOUIS - Drake wasn't on anybody's basketball radar screen last October.

The Bulldogs were picked to finish ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, and head coach Keno Davis wasn't a popular interview request at the league's media day.

Fast forward four months and the Bulldogs were the talk of the conference and the nation after posting a 28-5 record, winning the Valley regular-season and tournament championships and earning a No. 14 national ranking.

Adam Emmenecker went from walk-on to the MVC's Player of the Year.

"You'd have to be a dead man not to see what was happening in Des Moines," said new Drake head coach Mark Phelps, an assistant last season at Arizona State. "You didn't have to be in Des Moines, Iowa or the Missouri Valley. It was a national story."

Now, as a new season approaches, which Valley program has the potential to duplicate that Cinderella run?

"Whether it's in our league or any league across the country, that kind of year doesn't come along very often for anybody," said University of Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson, whose program was pegged sixth in the 2008-09 poll by the coaches, media and sports information directors at Tuesday's conference tip-off event. "With the exception of the two games we had with them, it was a fun story to follow.

"But that said, I see that as that. I haven't talked about that with our team, and I won't talk about that with our team. We're worried about our team and what we can control."

Asked which team can make a similar run, nobody offered any suggestions.

Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery did confirm one thing: "Our walk-on just had surgery, so we don't expect him to be player of the year.

"But that's what makes college athletics very, very special."

If anything, Drake's storybook season provides inspiration for teams picked in the lower division.

"It gives everyone hope," Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna said. "With the right team, right chemistry and right attitude, anything can happen. A lot of things have to go your way."

Senior guard Travis Brown - representing UNI at Tuesday's festivities - said last year proved teams have to be prepared for the unexpected.

"In this conference especially, preseason rankings mean little," Brown said. "You never know who's going to step up and be a surprise. We're looking forward to doing that this year."

Like many teams in the Valley, UNI has multiple question marks, ranging from 7-foot-1 center Jordan Eglseder's health to the impact Ali Farokhmanesh, John Moran and Kwadzo Ahelegbe will have in the backcourt.

Because of that, Jacobson believed the middle of the pack was a fair position for his team.

"As we've practiced and I've evaluated our team, there's a number of guys that are either going to be brand new to our league or that are in very different roles," Jacobson said. "This year will change significantly for a number of our players, and there's some excitement to that."

Creighton, which returns three starters and seven other lettermen from a 22-win season, was selected to win the league by a wide margin over Southern Illinois and Illinois State.

The Bluejays garnered 36 of the 39 first-place votes and collected 386 points - 64 more than SIU, which returns one starter in guard Bryan Mullins.

Still, the preseason favorite has only won the regular-season title 10 times in the last 24 years and failed to do so the past three seasons.

"Ever since I've been here, it's never ended up the way it started out at the beginning," senior guard Josh Dotzler said. "We're not putting too much into this. It says a lot about the potential of our team, but not much else."

Creighton had one player selected to the preseason all-conference team in 6-foot-3 sophomore guard P'Allen Stinnett. He's joined by Dotzler, a three-year starter, and senior guard Booker Woodfox.

"I like our team," Creighton coach Dana Altman said. "We've got some depth, and we've got a group of guys that are fairly athletic and have a little more quickness than we've had in the past."

Based on their experience, Jacobson said the Bluejays were deserving of the top line.

"Right now what separates them is the experience," Jacobson said. "With another year of experience under their belt, it's a good group."

Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge was tabbed the league's preseason player of the year, while Drake had two players on the preseason team - forward Jonathan Cox and guard Josh Young.

MVC-Mountain West Challenge: There's the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Big East-SEC Challenge and the Pac 10-Big 12 Challenge. Now, you can add the Missouri Valley-Mountain West Challenge for men's basketball.

The two leagues announced Tuesday an agreement in principle of an annual challenge that could begin as early as November 2009. All 19 members will participate in the event, which will feature head-to-head competition between nine Mountain West and nine MVC teams each season.

"When looking across the country, it was the perfect fit for us," MVC commissioner Doug Elgin said. "I think it will add a lot of pizzazz and excitement, having teams like UNLV, BYU, New Mexico in our buildings.

"And it's great for the fans of the Missouri Valley and the Mountain West as new rivalries are developed with nationally-recognized programs."

The nine-member Mountain West includes Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, Texas Christian, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming. UNI is already playing Wyoming the next two seasons.

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com

Preseason all-conference

Jonathan Cox, Drake, 6-8, sr.

Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State, 6-1, sr.

Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois, 6-1, sr.

P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton, 6-3, so.

Josh Young, Drake, 6-1, jr.

Honorable mention: Shy Ely, Evansville; Jason Holsinger, Evansville; Andrew Warren, Bradley; Theron Wilson, Bradley

Preseason player of year - Eldridge, Illinois State