RELATED LINKS
FRISCO — The UTSA men’s basketball team has been picked to win the Southland Conference's West Division in both the coaches and sports information directors preseason polls, the league office announced Wednesday.
Additionally, junior guard Melvin Johnson III and sophomore forward Jeromie Hill have been selected to the preseason all-conference teams by the league’s head coaches.
The Roadrunners, who host Southeastern Oklahoma State in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Friday, welcome back 12 letterwinners from last year’s squad that won the Southland Tournament Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UTSA, which finished with a 20-14 record for the program's first 20-win campaign in 19 years, upset the top three seeds to earn the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth last season. The Roadrunners then scored a historic 70-61 victory against Alabama State in the NCAA First Four for the school's first-ever NCAA postseason win in any sport.
UTSA received eight first-place votes and 68 points in the coaches poll for top billing in the West ahead of Texas State (2/47), UT Arlington (1/42), Stephen F. Austin (41), Sam Houston State (30) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (18). The SIDs gave the Roadrunners six first-place nods and 57 total points. Stephen F. Austin (3/54), UT Arlington (1/44) and Texas State (1/44), Sam Houston State (1/34) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (13) rounded out the West.
Northwestern State (4/54) was the coaches’ pick in the East Division ahead of McNeese State (3/51), Lamar (3/49), Southeastern Louisiana (2/47), Central Arkansas (23) and Nicholls (22). The SIDs selected McNeese State (7/60) first, followed by Lamar (2/47), Northwestern State (2/45), Southeastern Louisiana (1/42) and Nicholls (26) and Central Arkansas (26).
In a vote by the head coaches, Hill was one of five players chosen to the first team, while Johnson III landed on the second quintet.
The 2011 Southland Freshman of the Year and an honorable mention all-conference pick, Hill led all league freshmen in scoring (13.4), rebounding (6.6), field-goal percentage (.475) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.400) a year ago. The Cairns, Australia, native earned a spot on the conference all-tournament team after averaging 19.0 points and 5.3 rebounds and shooting 62.9 percent, including 7-of-8 from downtown, to help UTSA to its first league crown since 2004.
Johnson III, the league's Freshman of the Year in 2010, averaged 14.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and drained a team-high 80 3-pointers en route to honorable mention All-Southland accolades following his sophomore campaign. The Dallas native has made three or more treys in 22 career contests and ranks eighth in school history with 125. He poured in 25 of his career-high 29 points in the opening half of last year's NCAA First Four victory against Alabama State.
Hill was joined on the first team by McNeese State's Patrick Richard, Stephen F. Austin's Jereal Scott, Northwestern State's William Mosley and Southeastern Louisiana's Brandon Fortenberry. UT Arlington's Bo Ingram and LaMarcus Reed and the Lamar duo of Devon Lamb and Mike James made up the remainder of the second team.