SWAC Basketball Tournament: Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern headline
By Bryan Mauro
Key Players
Gary Blackston – Prairie View A&M
The Panthers are in the middle of their best season in school history and Blackston is a huge reason why. He is one of the favorites for the conference player of the year, and every accolade he receives he has earned. The senior guard is the straw that stirs the drink for the Panthers. The guard is the best player on the floor in the conference most nights. The NCAA tournament deserves to see a player the caliber of Blackston. The guard can score with the best of them and it would be great to see him go up against the best of the best in the NCAA tournament.
Jeremy Combs – Texas Southern
The grad transfer from LSU has been a revelation for Johnny Jones and the Tigers. Once big man and star Trayvon Reed went down with an injury, Combs stepped up his game and started making a run at the conference player of the year crown. The Tigers are loaded with former power-5 D-1 talent, and Combs has been playing like the prize of the lot. Combs is a handful for opposing teams to contend with. Since late January when his role expanded in the offense, he has been making teams pay.
Martaveous McKnight – Arkansas Pine-Bluff
Arkansas Pine-Bluff entered the season as the favorite to win the conference by many. Senior guard McKnight was projected to win the player of the year in the conference by many as well. That may still happen as the senior is one of the best scorers in the entire country. Arkansas Pine-Bluff at times relies exclusively on McKnight to score all their points. That has gotten them in trouble at points this season. If the guard, who leads the conference in scoring at just over 20 points per game, can go on a run his team still has the talent to make a deep run in the tournament. His ability to score can lead to several wins when he is rolling.
Reginald Gee- Alabama State
The Hornets have a star in Gee, a three-year player who does a little bit of everything for Alabama State. The junior guard should find his way onto the all-conference team. All the accolades and the individual success aside, Gee is hoping to lead his team to the NCAA tournament and win some games in the SWAC tournament. The Hornets had a tough end of the season as they played some of the better teams in the league to close, but when Gee is playing well, he makes the Hornets a tough out. Alabama State goes as Gee goes. His almost 14 points per game average will play well in the tournament and Hornets hope Gee is at his best when Alabama State takes the floor in the tournament.