Cline, Jones Garner Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Honors

PITTSBURGH - Richmond seniors T.J. Cline and ShawnDre' Jones were selected to the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 teams, the conference announced at its annual media day taking place in PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Cline was named to the First Team, while Jones earned a spot on the Third Team. Richmond was selected sixth in the preseason poll of the league's 14 teams.

A native of Plano, Texas, Cline has already earned the distinction of being one of the top transfers in Richmond basketball history after garnering All-Conference honors last season. Cline led the Spiders with 18.3 points per game last year, the highest season average by any Spider since 2001. He also dished a team-high 122 assists, ranking second in the country for assists among players 6-9 or taller and putting him 10th all-time for assists in a season in UR history.

He scored 999 points over his two years at UR, the fifth-most among any player after two seasons in school history. He currently ranks fifth all-time in career field goal percentage at 54.0 percent.

Fellow senior Jones looks to finish his career with a postseason trip after he became the 45th member of the 1,000-point club at the end of last season. Jones averaged 14.7 points per game with a team-high 60 three-pointers. He also led the Spiders efficient offensive attack that ranked fourth in the nation with a 1.62 assist-to-turnover ratio.

In 2016-17, Richmond basketball returns four of its top five scorers from a team that averaged more points (76.6) than any UR squad since 1980. The Spiders led the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage and were the only team to boast three different players with 100 or more assists.

UR will welcome five scholarship newcomers to the program this year. The Spiders' three true freshmen were all born in Richmond, while graduate transfer Kwesi Abakah comes from Northeastern and transfer Solly Stansbury moves from Paris, France. Stansbury will sit out this season due to transfer rules, while Abakah is eligible to play.

PRESEASON POLL
1. Dayton
2. Rhode Island
3. VCU
4. Davidson
5. St. Bonaventure
6. Richmond
7. La Salle
8. George Washington
9. Saint Joseph's
10. Massachusetts
11. Fordham
12. George Mason
13. Duquesne
14. Saint Louis

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Kwesi Abakah

T.J. Cline

T.J. Cline

ShawnDre' Jones

ShawnDre' Jones

Solly Stansbury

Upcoming Events

University of Richmond Athletics