Cedric Harris Named To 2020 LSWA First Team
Centenary men's basketball senior Cedric Harris picked up another impressive postseason honor on Tuesday as he was named to the 2020 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Men’s College Basketball Team as a First Team selection. The 18-player team was selected by a statewide panel of the men’s basketball sports information directors and media members and includes players from 15 different schools across all divisions.
Lafayette, La. – Centenary men's basketball senior Cedric Harris picked up another impressive postseason honor on Tuesday as he was named to the 2020 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Men's College Basketball Team as a First Team selection.
The 18-player team was selected by a statewide panel of the men's basketball sports information directors and media members and includes players from 15 different schools across all divisions.
Harris, a Shreveport native, is one of just five players in the state to be named to the First Team. He has picked up several prestigious individual honors following a superb senior season for the Maroon and White. He was named to the 2019-20 D3hoops.com All-Region team last month as he was named to the South Region first team, one of just five players, and one of just 15 in total in the region. Harris, the 2019-20 Southern Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year, All-SCAC First Team selection, and SCAC Championships MVP, led the Gents to their first SCAC Tournament Title and trip to the Division III NCAA Tournament last month.
The former C.E. Byrd High star finished his super career as one of the most accomplished players in Gents history, as he ranks in the top 15 in all-time in scoring and rebounding and his 262 career three-point baskets ranks second all-time in program history and third-most in conference history. Harris concluded his career with 1,539 points, 13th-most in SCAC history.
Harris played in all 28 games for the Gents this season, starting 27 of them and ended the year averaging 20.2 points per game, second in the conference, and led the SCAC in three-point field goals made (108), field goals made (196), defensive rebounds (200) and total points (566). The 108 three-point field goals made set a new SCAC high for the most in a single season. Harris also ranked top five in the league for minutes per game (34.6 – third), total rebounds (243 – third) and points per 40 minutes (23.4 – fourth).
He eclipsed the 20-point mark for the 15th time this season and led all scorers with 26 points as he shot 9-20 from the field and 7-17 from three-point range in 37 minutes of Centenary's 83-81 heartbreaking loss to UT-Dallas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Gents' first tournament game in school history. Harris scored 16 points in 35 minutes of the SCAC Championship Game on March 1 as he led the Gents to their first men's basketball conference title since 1980 when the Maroon and White claimed both the regular season and conference tournament championships while a member of the Trans America Athletic Conference (now the Atlantic Sun Conference).
LSU, which placed a state-best three players on the team, claimed two of the four specialty awards with senior Skylar Mays earning Player of the Year honors and Trendon Watford selected as LSWA Freshman of the Year. ULL's Jalen Johnson, a Baton Rouge native and transfer from Saint Louis, was picked as Newcomer of the Year with Louisiana Tech's Eric Konkol earning Coach of the Year honors.
2020 ALL-LOUISIANA MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL TEAM
(selected by the state men's basketball sports information directors and media panel)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Skylar Mays, LSU
Newcomer of the Year – Jalen Johnson, Louisiana
Freshman of the Year – Trendon Watford, LSU
Coach of the Year – Eric Konkol, Louisiana Tech
FIRST TEAM
DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech – G, Sr., Baltimore, Md., 12.9 ppg., 2.9 apg., 1.1 spg.,
Cedric Harris, Centenary – G, Sr., Shreveport, La., 20.2 ppg., 8.7 rpg.
Sha'Markus Kennedy, McNeese – F, Sr., Tuscaloosa, Ala., 18.6 ppg., 10.9 rpg., 2.6 bpg.
Skylar Mays, LSU – G, Sr., Baton Rouge, La., 16.7 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 3.2 rpg.
Bryson Robinson, New Orleans – G, Sr., Mesquite, Texas, 17.9 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 2.6 apg.
SECOND TEAM
Malik Amos, Dillard – G, Jr., Missouri City, Texas, 19.1 ppg., 2.6 rpg.
Michael Ertel, ULM – G, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind., 16.2 ppg., 3.3 rpg., 2.8 apg.
Jalen Johnson, ULL – F, Jr., Baton Rouge, La., 15.5 ppg., 6.6 rpg.
William Loyd, Xavier – F, Sr., Baton Rouge, La., 16.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg.
Trendon Watford, LSU – F, Fr., Birmingham, Ala., 13.6 ppg., 7.2 rpg., 1.7 apg.
THIRD TEAM
Kae'Ron Baker, Louisiana College – G, Jr., Navasota, Texas, 19.8 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 3.0 apg.
Chudier Bile, Northwestern State – F, Jr., Denver, Colo., 14.3 ppg., 7.6 rpg.
Myles Burns, Loyola – G/F, Soph., Houston, Texas, 14.1 ppg., 8.0 rpg.
Javonte Smart, LSU – G, Soph., Baton Rouge, La., 12.5 ppg., 3.5 rpg., 4.2 apg.
Christion Thompson, Tulane – G, Sr., Gonzales, La., 14.1 ppg., 6.3 rpg., 2.8 apg.
HONORABLE MENTION
Traquan Knight, LSU Shreveport; Ivy Smith, Jr., Grambling, Mylik Wilson, ULL
