Southland Conference Places Harris on All-Academic First Team
3/28/2018 2:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Sophomore was SFA's second-leading scorer in 2017-18
Complete Southland Conference Release
FRISCO, Texas - Already recognized as one of the best players in the Southland Conference, Stephen F. Austin men's basketball sophomore added another accolade to his 2017-18 trophy case Wednesday afternoon when the Ellenwood, Ga., product earned a spot on the Southland Conference All-Academic First Team.
One of six players who were named to the First Team, Harris was the only underclassman to appear on either the All-Academic First or Second Team following a splendid second season in purple and white. In the classroom, Harris carries a 3.18 GPA in sports business but it was his on-court prowess which helped the 'Jacks return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
Pushing his game to another level following a freshman season in which he served as the 'Jacks' sixth man, Harris took over as one of SFA's primary offensive threats from the get-go in 2017-18. At 14.5 points per game, Harris' scoring average was the second-best among the 'Jacks' ranks and the 10th highest in the Southland Conference. Of the top ten scorers in the 13-team league, Harris was one of only three underclassmen on that list.
From long distance, Harris was particularly deadly as evident by his downtown accuracy rate of 42.6-percent (58-of-136) which was the second-highest mark in the Southland. The sophomore averaged 1.8 triples per tilt, an average helped by his career-best eight as part of a career-high 31-point outing in the 'Jacks' non-conference home victory over Rice on Dec. 10, 2017.
The eight three-pointer Harris drilled in that tilt represented the third-most in a single game in SFA history. Additionally, Harris earned a pair of selections as the Southland Conference Player of the Week during the 2017-18 campaign, posted four double-doubles and turned in the best single-game field goal percentage mark in the Southland Conference by going 10-of-11 (90.9-percent) from the field in SFA's non-conference victory at Louisiana Tech.
With the help of Harris, the 'Jacks racked up a 28-7 record during the 2017-18 campaign. Those 28 wins represent the fifth-highest single-season total in SFA history and under the direction of second-year head coach Kyle Keller the 'Jacks were once against the Southland Conference's representative in the NCAA Tournament.
Drawing a 14-seed, the 'Jacks were placed in the east region of the bracket and took on third-seeded and 14th-ranked Texas Tech at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, in the opening round of the big dance.
The all-academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
2017-18 Southland Conference Men's Basketball All-Academic Teams
First Team
Name | University | Class | Hometown | GPA | Major
Jordan Howard | Central Arkansas | Sr. | Chandler, Ariz. | 3.71 | Digital Filmmaking
Kareem South | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | Jr. | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 3.53 | Biomedical Science
Kevon Harris | Stephen F. Austin | So. | Ellenwood, Ga. | 3.18 | Sports Business
Eddy Polanco | Southeastern Louisiana | Sr. | Bronx, N.Y. | 3.62 | International Business
Jaren Lewis | Abilene Christian | Jr. | Orlando, Fla. | 3.29 | Business Management
Second Team
Sam Burmeister | Incarnate Word | Gr. | San Antonio, Texas | 3.97 | Business Administration
Braxton Bonds | Houston Baptist | Jr. | Nashville, Tenn. | 3.52 | Interdisciplinary Studies
Mathieu Kamba | Central Arkansas | Sr. | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | 3.14 | Finance
Hayden Howell | Abilene Christian | Jr. | Midwest City, Okla. | 3.87 | Composite Interdisciplinary
Lafayette Rutledge | Nicholls | Sr. | Gautier, Miss. | 3.38 | Interdisciplinary Studies
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