Courtesy of the SWAC
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced its 2023-24 Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish and Preseason All-SWAC teams and individual award winners during the league’s media day event on Wednesday morning. The all-conference honors and preseason poll was voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Texas Southern was tabbed as the favorite heading into the season. The Tigers were followed by Grambling State (2nd), Alcorn State (3rd), Jackson State (4th) and Southern (5th) to round out the top five preseason poll selections.
Prairie View A&M (6th), Alabama A&M (7th), Alabama State (8th), Bethune-Cookman (9th), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (10th), Florida A&M (11th), and Mississippi Valley State (12th) were tabbed to finish 6-12 respectively.
TSU led all preseason poll selections garnering 10 first-place votes, followed by Grambling State (4), Jackson State (3), and Alcorn State (2). Prairie View A&M (1), Southern (1), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1) and Alabama A&M (1) each tallied one first-place vote.
Texas Southern’s PJ Henry was named Preseason Player of the Year, while Grambling State’s Jourdan Smith claimed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year recognition.
Henry is Texas Southern’s top returning scorer from this past season. He has participated in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the Tigers. Last year Henry ranked second on the team in assists and third in scoring. Henry’s impact on TSU was significant during postseason play as he averaged 18.6 ppg during the Tigers’ SWAC Tournament title run.
Smith was one of the most dominant players on the GSU roster during the 2022-23 campaign. He started 20-of-33 games for the Tigers, averaging 8.7 ppg and 4.9 rpg. The New Orleans, La. native came on strong for GSU in conference play, posting multiple 20-point games, including a season-high 24-point performance. He also registered 10 double-figure scoring games. Smith ranked sixth in the SWAC in blocks with 33 and 13th in rebounds with 162.
The complete list of preseason poll rankings, all-conference selections, and individual award winners is listed below.
2023-24 SWAC Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Texas Southern 240 (10)
2. Grambling State 233 (4)
3. Alcorn State 214 (2)
4. Jackson State 213 (3)
5. Southern 153 (1)
6. Prairie View A&M 151 (1)
7. Alabama A&M 140 (1)
8. Alabama State 121
9. Bethune-Cookman 107
10. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 105 (1)
11. Florida A&M 97
12. Mississippi Valley State 30
First place votes listed in parentheses
2023-24 SWAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
PJ Henry, Texas Southern
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Jourdan Smith, Grambling State
Preseason All-SWAC First Team
Zion Harmon, Bethune-Cookman
Jeremiah Kendall, Alcorn State
PJ Henry, Texas Southern
Chase Adams, Jackson State
Kylen Milton, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Preseason All-SWAC Second Team
Romelle Mansel, Jackson State
Ken Evans Jr., Jackson State
Joe French, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Antonio Madlock, Alabama State
Jourdan Smith, Grambling State
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