Of the 15 players selected to All-SLC teams today, 12 were from different schools, as Stephen F. Austin, Lamar and UT Arlington each placed two players on the All-SLC teams.
Newcomer of the Year honors went to Lamar’s Kenny Dawkins, as he led the team and finished No. 7 in the SLC in scoring at 14.4 per game. Dawkins is the fifth overall Cardinal to win the honor in school history and is the second-straight, as Sanders was selected last year. In addition to Sanders, Dawkins joins B.B. Davis in 1978, Jerry Everett in 1984, James Gulley in 1985 as the other Cardinals to win the honor.
Freshman of the Year honors went to UTSA’s Devin Gibson, who finished as the league’s top freshman scorer at 13.7 points per game. He is the third Roadrunner in school history to win Freshman of the Year honors, joining Devin Brown in 1999 and Kurt Attaway in 2003. Gibson also led the league and the nation in steals at 3.41 per game, as his 92 steals this season is the fourth-best single-season total in SLC history.
Coach of the Year honors went to SFA’s Danny Kaspar, after he guided the Lumberjacks to a 25-4 overall record this season. Kaspar is the second Lumberjack coach to claim the honor, joining Ned Fowler in 1991.
Joining Alexander on the first-team is Sam Houston State’s Ryan Bright, who led the league with 14 double-doubles on the year. Bright also led the league in rebounds at 10.7 per game, as he earns his second-straight first-team All-SLC honor.
Lamar’s Lamar Sanders averaged 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, as he earned first-team honors, after earning second-team accolades last year. Northwestern State’s Trey Gilder, who posted a SLC best two 30-point outings on the season and finished No. 3 in the SLC in scoring at 16.1 per game and Dawkins rounded out the first team.
The second team is made up of SFA’s Matt Kingsley, who finished No. 5 in the SLC in scoring at 15.3 points per game. Southeastern Louisiana’s Kevyn Green, who led the league in 20-point outings with nine and finished No. 4 in the SLC in scoring at 15.6 points per game is also a second-team member, joining Central Arkansas’ Nate Bowie, who led the league in scoring at 17.5 points per game. Gibson also earned second-team honors, while UT Arlington’s Jermaine Griffin rounded out the second team, after leading the league in field goal percentage at 64.2 percent.
Rounding out the third-team is A&M-Corpus Christi’s Chris Daniels, the 2007 SLC Player of the Year and 2007 SLC Tournament MVP, along with Nicholls State’s Ryan Bathie, McNeese State’s Jarvis Bradley, Texas State’s Brandon Bush and UT Arlington’s Rog’er Guignard.
2007-08 ALL-SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAMS
2007-08 All-Southland Conference First-Team
Name -- Ht. -- Cl. ? Pos. ? Hometown/Last School
Josh Alexander, Stephen F. Austin ? 6-4 ? Jr. ? G ? Shreveport, La./C.E. Byrd HS
Ryan Bright, Sam Houston State ? 6-6 ? Sr. ? F ? Deer Park, Texas/Deer Park HS
Lamar Sanders, Lamar -- 6-6 ? Sr. ? F -- Hickory, Miss./Northwest Mississippi CC
Trey Gilder, Northwestern State ? 6-9 ? Sr. ? F ? DeSoto, Texas/Tyler Junior College
Kenny Dawkins, Lamar ? 5-9 ? Jr. ? G ? Holly Springs, Miss./Arizona Western College
2007-08 All-Southland Conference Second-Team
Name -- Ht. -- Cl. ? Pos. ? Hometown/Last School
Matt Kingsley, Stephen F. Austin ? 6-9 ? Jr. ? F ? Houston, Texas/Cypress Creek HS
Kevyn Green, Southeastern La. ? 6-5 ? Sr. ? F ? Portland, Ore./Lamar CC
Nate Bowie, Central Arkansas ? 6-0 ? Sr. ? G ? Kansas City, Mo./Colby CC
Devin Gibson, UTSA ? 6-0 ? Fr. ? G ? Houston, Texas/Cy-Falls HS
Jermaine Griffin, UT Arlington ? 6-9 -- Sr. ? F ? Houston, Texas/Sterling HS
2007-08 All-Southland Conference Third-Team
Name -- Ht. -- Cl. ? Pos. -- Hometown / Last School
Chris Daniels, A&M-Corpus Christi ? 7-0 ? Sr. ? C -- San Antonio, Texas/Sam Houston HS
Ryan Bathie, Nicholls State ? 6-6 ? Jr. ? F ? Melbourne, Australia/Mowbray College
Jarvis Bradley, McNeese State ? 6-6 ? Sr. ? F ? Dallas, Texas/Jacksonville JC
Brandon Bush, Texas State ? 6-7 ? Jr. ? G ? Houston, Texas/Mayde Creek HS
Rog’er Guignard, UT Arlington ? 5-11 ? So. ? G ? Mesquite, Texas/Horn HS
Honorable Mention: Shamir McDaniel, Sam Houston State, Darren Hopkins, Lamar, John Ford, McNeese State, Colby Bargeman, Northwestern State, Eric Bell, Stephen F. Austin, Anthony Vereen, UT Arlington, Justin Reynolds, A&M-Corpus Christi.
Player of the Year ? Josh Alexander, Stephen F. Austin
Newcomer of the Year ? Kenny Dawkins, Lamar
Freshman of the Year ? Devin Gibson, UTSA
Coach of the Year ? Danny Kaspar, Stephen F. Austin