Bogues, Harris and Holyfield Land on Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team
10/9/2018 9:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Trio represents SFA's top three scorers from 2017-18 campaign
Complete Southland Conference Release
FRISCO, Texas - Three of the individuals responsible for the on-court success of the SFA men's basketball team last season saw their names listed among the 10 Preseason All-Southland Conference selections which were released by the league office Tuesday morning.
Senior guard Shannon Bogues, senior forward TJ Holyfield and junior guard/forward Kevon Harris each earned spots on the Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team, giving SFA the highest number of preseason all-league picks in the 13-team league. That SFA trio was joined by Southeastern Louisiana senior guard and reigning Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year Marlain Veal as well as Northwestern State senior forward Ishmael Lane on the Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team.
Five other student-athletes - two from Abilene Christian and one each from Houston Baptist, Lamar and Sam Houston State - made up the five-man Preseason All-Southland Conference Second Team.
Few in the Southland could contend with the high-scoring ways of Bogues who latched on to All-Southland Conference Second Team and NABC All-District 23 Second Team accolades by the time the 2017-18 campaign was a matter of record. The high-flying Killeen, Texas, native led SFA in scoring at a clip of 15.4 points per game and became only the ninth player in the 'Jacks' NCAA Division I history to score 500 or more points in a single season.
Bogues' impressive shooting splits of .505/.352/.795 helped him rank third on the team in field goal percentage, fifth in three-point field goal accuracy and tops in free throw percentage. The guard racked up four 30+ point performances which included a season-high 35 in just 27 minutes of action in the 'Jacks' 97-50 decimation of Southland Conference adversary Northwestern State on Feb. 10.
Breaking out in a major way during the 2017-18 campaign, Harris wasted little time in becoming one of the 'Jacks' focal points. The Ellenwood, Ga., product posted double-doubles in each of his first two games of the year and earned a pair of Southland Conference Player of the Week citations before SFA started league action.
One of those Player of the Week accolades came after Harris torched Rice to the tune of a career-best 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. In the 'Jacks' 81-62 romp over the Owls on Saturday, Dec. 9, Harris connected on eight three-pointers - the third-highest number of three-pointers made in a single game in program history.
For the year, Harris averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on a splendid shooting split of .480/.426/.680. Harris led the 'Jacks and ranked second among all Southland Conference student-athletes in three-point field goal percentage while finishing 11th in the league in scoring and 20th in rebounding.
About to enter his final season in an SFA uniform, Holyfield has already established himself as the program's all-time leading shot blocker but has a great opportunity to climb further up the 'Jacks' all-time charts in both scoring and rebounding before the 2018-19 campaign comes to an end. An All-Southland Conference Third Team and Southland Conference All-Defensive Team choice last season, Holyfield ranked third among SFA's ranks in scoring (12.9 points per game) and led the 'Jacks in rebounding at a mark of 6.4 per outing.
The forward out of Albuquerque, N.M., posted four double-doubles through the 2017-18 season, two of which came in the Southland Conference Tournament and aided his run to the title of Southland Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player. For the year, Holyfield connected on 54.8-percent of his field goal tries which was the best mark on the team and the third-highest in the Southland Conference. His blocked shots average of 1.3 per game ranked as the ninth-highest in the 13-team league as well.
Holyfield posted a trio of outings with 20 or more points last season and joined both the 1,000-point club and the 500-rebound club before closing the books on 2017-18, too.
Bogues, Harris, Holyfield and the rest of the 'Jacks are a little less than one month away from beginning the 2018-19 season. On Tuesday, Nov. 6, SFA begins the season inside William R. Johnson Coliseum by playing host to Texas Wesleyan. Tip-off for SFA's 94th season of basketball has been set for 6:30 p.m.
2018-19 Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team
Player | School | Pos. | Class | Hometown
Marlain Veal | Southeastern Louisiana | G | Sr. | New Orleans, La.
Shannon Bogues | SFA | G | Sr. | Killeen, Texas
Kevon Harris | SFA | G/F | Jr. | Ellenwood, Ga.
TJ Holyfield | SFA | F | Sr. | Albuquerque, N.M.
Ishmael Lane | Northwestern State | F/C | Sr. | Port Allen, La.
2018-19 Preseason All-Southland Conference Second Team
Player | 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
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