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Somerset, NJ -- The 2018-19 preseason All-Northeast Conference (NEC) men’s basketball team was announced, and for the second straight year, league head coaches tabbed a pair of Saint Francis U student-athletes to the list.
The Red Flash, who are the NEC preseason favorites, were represented by junior guard
Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/The Lawrenceville School) and senior guard
Jamaal King (Salisbury, MD/Bishop O’Connell (VA)). Fairleigh Dickinson, picked second in the poll, features senior forward
Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick), while defending champion LIU Brooklyn sports senior swingman
Raiquan Clark (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse). Central Connecticut senior guard/forward
Tyler Kohl (Allenton, PA/Mineral Area College) rounded out the five-player squad.
All five of the honorees are returning All-NEC performers.
The announcement of the team, along with the preseason coaches’ poll, was made on Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the site of NEC Basketball “Social” Media Day.
King and Braxton will team up to form one of the league’s top one-two combos for the Red Flash, who have their sights set on the program’s first NEC title since 1991.
Coming off his NEC Rookie of the Year campaign in 2016-17, Braxton became a two-time NEC all-star after garnering first team accolades last season. The 6’4” guard is comfortable at any spot on the court and does not have a weakness in his skill set. Braxton led the NEC in rebounding (9.5) and double-doubles (15), and ranked second in the nation in both categories among guards. Braxton finished in the NEC top-15 in no less than seven categories, including scoring (17.2, 7th), assists (3.3, 12th), steals (1.7, 5th) and all three shooting categories. With 976 points, 589 rebounds, 209 assists and 103 steals in two years, Braxton can realistically make a run at becoming only player in NCAA history to finish with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 200 steals in his career.
One of the league’s most improved players as a sophomore, King didn’t stop there. Last season, King was tabbed to the All-NEC first team after he paced the Red Flash and ranked third in the conference with 18.2 ppg. The Salisbury, MD native shot an efficient 47.3 percent from the field, 81.2 percent from the stripe and hit 53 shots from downtown, all while leading SFU with 3.5 apg. King has few peers in the NEC as a one-on-one threat, and has built a well-deserved reputation as a clutch shooter. He enters his senior season with 1,005 career points.
Holloway was an impact player from day one for the Knights, and his steady rise into one of the league’s premier bigs gives the Knights a huge weapon in pursuit of their second NEC crown in four years. At 6’8” and 245 lbs., Holloway is a bruising presence who possesses a soft touch and deft footwork on the block. Holloway established new career-highs in 2017-18 with 13.4 ppg and 7.0 rpg. He ranked fifth in the NEC in rebounding and eighth in field goal percentage, hitting 48.3 percent of his opportunities. Holloway, who hails from Pittsgrove, NJ, has racked up 1,058 points and 589 rebounds in his three seasons to lead all active NEC players. He was a second team NEC all-star as a junior.
Clark’s ascension from a walk-on to one of the NEC’s top players is one of the league’s great storylines entering the 2018-19 season. There’s no quit in the 6’6” swingman, who plays at warp speed all 40 minutes and is nearly impossible to stop off the dribble. Last season, he bumped his scoring from 6.2 ppg to 17.3 ppg to rank sixth on the circuit. The third team All-Conference honoree also posted top-five NEC showings with 7.0 rpg (third) and 55.6 percent shooting (fifth) from the field for the defending NEC champs. Clark came to play when it mattered most, earning NEC All-Tournament recognition after scoring 28 in LIU’s semifinal win over FDU and 20 more against Wagner in the final.
With a skill set that may be unmatched in the conference, the 6’5” Kohl does it all for the Blue Devils. Possessing the versatility to play a host of positions, the Allentown, PA native was the lone NEC competitor to finish in the top-10 in scoring (16.7, eighth), rebounding (8.2, fourth) and assists (4.1, seventh), and was the only player to lead his team in all three categories. He finished with eight double-doubles and 12 games of 20 or more points en-route to second team All-NEC honors on an improved Central Connecticut squad that boosted its win total by eight games.
2018-19 Northeast Conference Preseason All-Conference Team
Name School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown/High School
Keith Braxton SFU G 6-4 208 Jr Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)
Raiquan Clark LIU G/F 6-6 195 Sr New Haven, CT/Hillhouse
Mike Holloway FDU F 6-8 245 Sr Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick
Jamaal King SFU G 5-10 170 Sr Salisbury, MD/Bishop O’Connell (VA)
Tyler Kohl CCSU G/F 6-5 220 Sr Allentown, MA/Mineral Area College
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 38th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#26), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. Merrimack will join the NEC as a full-time member in July, 2019. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.