Davis, Watson Notch Preseason All-SBC; Men Picked Second

LAFAYETTE, La. (10/23/06) North Texas guards Kendrick Davis and Calvin Watson both earned Preseason All-Sun Belt honors at the conference’s basketball media days. The Mean Green was picked second, tying with New Orleans, in the West Division of the Preseason Coaches Poll.

Davis, the reigning Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, notched a first-team All-Sun Belt bid after leading the Mean Green in scoring (16.8 ppg) and assists (2.4 apg) last season. The senior was a second-team selection in 2005-06, and was only the 30th player in school history to score 400 points in a season.

Watson earned a second-team slot after finishing his junior season on fire. The three-year letterman racked up seven straight double figure games to close out the year, ending the campaign with an average of 9.8 ppg. A dangerous threat from behind the arc, Watson has hit multiple three-pointers in 17 games over the last two seasons.

The Mean Green drew four first-place votes and 70 overall points to tie New Orleans for second in the preseason coaches poll. Division newcomer Arkansas-Little Rock was picked to win West with 73 overall points, but only three first-place votes.

North Texas is also slated for a pair of televised games this season. The Mean Green will appear on the Hilltopper Satellite Sports Network against Western Kentucky on Dec. 19, and on ESPN Regional at Denver on Feb. 15.

North Texas begins exhibition play on Nov. 7 against Texas College, and tips off the season at home against Cameron on Nov. 10.

Preseason Men’s All-Sun Belt Team

First Team

Rashad Jones-Jennings (UALR, Sr., F) - Nation’s top returning rebounder; Earned Third-Team All-SBC honors; Third nationally in rebounding with 11.3 rpg

Isaac Wells (Arkansas State, Jr., F) - Averaged 14.4 ppg and had 68 rebounds; He also led the team in blocks (28 total) and posted 49 assists and 18 steals

DaShawn Walker (Denver, Sr., G) - 13.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 17 blocks; scored 20 or more points in eight games last season and 15 or more in 15 games

Kendrick Davis (North Texas, Sr., G) - Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year; Lead North Texas in scoring (16.8 ppg) and assists (2.4 apg)

Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky, Jr., G/F) - Preseason SBC Player of the Year; First Team All-SBC in 2005-06; 17.4 ppg last season

Second Team

Antonio Porch (Denver, Sr., F) - Finished third on the team in scoring (7.8 ppg), rebounding (4.2 pg) and blocks (8)

Adam Vogelsberg (Middle Tennessee, Sr., G) - Led SBC in free-throw and was 5th among league leaders for 3-point fgm; lead team in scoring (12.4 ppg)

Calvin Watson (North Texas, Sr., G) - Reached double fi gures 10 times, including two games with at least 20 points to rank third for UNT in scoring

Cedric Jackson (Troy, Sr., F) - Averaged 13.3 ppg and 5.0 rpg; topped double fi gures in scoring 23 times, including 20 on three occasions

Demetric Bennett (South Alabama, Jr., G) - Fourth for USA in scoring at 8.8 ppg, fourth in rebounds at 3.7 rpg and fourth in total rebounds with 115.

Third Team

Lekheythan Malone (UALR, So., F) - SBC Freshman of the Year; Averaged 9.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg, while shooting a team-best .808 from the foul line last season

Yual Banks (Arkansas State, Sr., G) - Led the SBC in 3-point fi eld goal percentage for SBC games (.459 percentage) and made 42-102 for a .430 percentage for the year

Alex Galindo (Florida International, So., F) - Kansas’ best 3-point threat during the 2004-05 season; averaged 4.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 23 games for the Jayhawks

Johwen Villegas (Florida International, Sr., G) - A genuine 3-point threat whose team-leading 74 treys in 2005-06 ranked fourth best all-time at FIU

Carlos Smith (South Alabama, Sr., G) - Played in 31 games and started 30 in his third season at USA, averaged 7.1 ppg

Preseason Player of the Year: Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky, Jr., G/F)

Preseason Coaches Poll

East Division Points

1. Western Kentucky (9) 73

2. South Alabama (2) 60

3. Middle Tennessee (1) 55

4. Troy 41

5. Florida International 23

6. Florida Atlantic (1) 21

West Division Points

1. UALR (3) 73

T2. New Orleans (5) 70

T2. North Texas (4) 70

T4. Arkansas State 51

T4. Denver (1) 51

6. Louisiana-Lafayette 28

7. Louisiana-Monroe 21

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Players Mentioned

Kendrick Davis

Calvin Watson

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