Pair Of 'Jacks Named To Preseason Team
10/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 20, 2008
KATY, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team returns four starters from last year's 26-6 Southland Conference Championship campaign. Tuesday, two of those four returning starters were named to the Preseason All-SLC squads, as seniors Josh Alexander and Matt Kingsley landed spots on the first-team list.
SFA is the lone team in the conference to nab two first-team selections. UT-Arlington is the only other squad in the league to garner two preseason choices, but both Maverick players were named to the second team.
Alexander is coming off a career year in 2007-08. He led the Lumberjacks in both scoring (16.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg) on the way to an SLC Player of the Year award. The three-time All-SLC honoree was named to three All-America teams following the season, when he became the SFA career leader in 3-point field goals and moved into 12th place on the school's list of career scoring leaders.
Alexander has led the Lumberjacks in scoring and rebounding each of the last three seasons and stands to become the first player in school history to lead both categories in four consecutive years. The 6-4, 210-pound small forward from Shreveport, La., is the top returning scorer in the SLC.
Kingsley joins Alexander as perhaps the best one-two frontcourt punch in the SLC. The 6-9, 230-pound center is the No. 2 returning scorer in the Southland after averaging 15.7 points per game in 2007-08. Kingsley was also second to Alexander on the boards among Lumberjacks last season, when he pulled down an average of 5.7 rebounds per game. The Houston native's efforts earned him a spot on the All-SLC second team last year.
The Lumberjacks will open the 2008-09 season on Nov. 14, when they host Howard Payne in a 7 p.m. game. SFA begins defense of its 2008 conference title on Jan. 10, when the Lumberjacks open Southland Conference play with a home game against Sam Houston State. The contest will be televised on SLC TV.
-- SFA --
