Southland Names 2018-19 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams
FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana’s Marlain Veal headlines the 10 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference selections, the league announced Tuesday. The announcement comes a day before the Southland Social Media Day in Houston at the Toyota Center, beginning at 9 a.m. CT.
Veal, the 2017-18 Defensive Player of the Year, enters his senior season following a year that saw him average 2.2 steals per game in conference action to lead the Southland. The New Orleans native also led the league in assists with a 6.1 average per game. He is one of five all-conference members from a season ago returning this year to earn automatic selection to the preseason teams.
Stephen F. Austin leads all schools with three picks to the first team in senior guard Shannon Bogues from Killeen, Texas, junior guard/forward Kevon Harris from Ellwood, Ga., and senior forward TJ Holyfield from Albuquerque, N.M. The trio helped lead the Lumberjacks to their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five years this past season.
Northwestern State senior forward/center Ishmael Lane completes the first team. The product from Port Allen, La., was second in the league for blocked shots (1.8 bpg), sixth for rebounding (7.2 rpg) and 13th for scoring (13.7 ppg).
Houston Baptist’s Josh Ibarra returns to the court for his senior season after being forced to take a medical redshirt early into last year’s campaign. He leads the selections voted on by the Southland head coaches. Abilene Christian received two spots on the second team in senior forward Jaren Lewis and junior center Jalone Friday. Lamar’s Josh Nzeakor and Sam Houston State’s Marcus Harris round out the selections.
All 26 men’s and women’s head basketball coaches will be in attendance for Q&As at the Southland Basketball Social Media Day and interactive social media activities on the Southland’s
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook accounts. The event is open to all media members.
Southland broadcasters Carley McCord and Lincoln Rose will also host the coaches for a show produced for ESPN3. The show will debut Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. CT, and be archived for later viewing.
The preseason teams were chosen by a poll of the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors. Voters were not allowed to select their institution’s players.
2018-19 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams
| First Team |
School |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Marlain Veal* |
Southeastern Louisiana |
G |
Sr. |
New Orleans |
| Shannon Bogues* |
Stephen F. Austin |
G |
Sr. |
Killeen, Texas |
| Kevon Harris* |
Stephen F. Austin |
G/F |
Jr. |
Ellenwood, Ga. |
| TJ Holyfield* |
Stephen F. Austin |
F |
Sr. |
Albuquerque, N.M. |
| Ishmael Lane* |
Northwestern State |
F/C |
Sr. |
Port Allen, La. |
| Second Team |
School |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Josh Ibarra |
Houston Baptist |
C |
R-Sr. |
Angleton, Texas |
| Jalone Friday |
Abilene Christian |
C |
Jr. |
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| Josh Nzeakor |
Lamar |
F |
Sr. |
Mesquite, Texas |
| Jaren Lewis |
Abilene Christian |
F |
Sr. |
Orlando, Fla. |
| Marcus Harris |
Sam Houston State |
G |
Sr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
* Automatic Selection, 2017-18 All-Conference Team Member