| Devin Gibson |
KATY ? The Southland Conference announced its 2008-09 preseason polls Tuesday at the league’s annual Media Day and UTSA has been picked to finish third in the West Division by the league's sports information directors and fourth by the head coaches. Additionally, sophomore Devin Gibson has been named to the preseason first team.
UTSA tallied 43 points, including a pair of first-place votes, in the SIDs voting, tying with Sam Houston State for third in the West behind UT Arlington (57) and Lamar (56). Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (27) and Texas State (20) rounded out the West Division picks.
The Roadrunners were picked fourth with 39 points by the head coaches behind UT Arlington (63), Lamar (54) and Sam Houston State (46). The Islanders (26) and Texas State (18) were chosen fifth and sixth, respectively.
Third-year head coach Brooks Thompson welcomes back his top three scorers ? Gibson (14.1 points per game) and seniors Travis Gabbidon (13.9 ppg) and Joey Shank (9.2 ppg) ? from last season’s 13-17 squad that tied for third in the West with a 7-9 mark.
Gibson, the 2007-08 SLC Freshman of the Year and a second-team all-conference selection, was the only sophomore chosen to the five-member first team by the league’s head coaches. The Cypress Falls High product averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and an NCAA-best 3.3 steals per game for the Roadrunners last season.
Gibson joins Lamar’s Kenny Dawkins, Kevyn Green of Southeastern Louisiana and the Stephen F. Austin duo of Josh Alexander, the 2007-08 SLC Player of the Year, and Matt Kingsley on the first team.
Stephen F. Austin, which moves from the West Division to the East Division this year, received 65 points and 10 first-place votes in both polls to top the East. Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, McNeese State, Nicholls and Central Arkansas rounded out the coaches’ East selections with the last two teams flip-flopped in the SIDs poll.
The top two teams in each division automatically qualify for the 2009 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament, which will be contested from March 12-15 at the Merrell Center in Katy. The four teams with the best winning percentages round out the tournament’s field of eight. However, Central Arkansas is ineligible for tournament consideration because of its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I.