Lamar sports information

FRISCO – Lamar senior forward Josh Nzeakor has been named to the 2018 Preseason All-Southland Conference team, league officials announced Tuesday morning. Nzeakor is a second-team selection on the 10-player squad.

“Josh has gotten better each year,” said LU head coach Tic Price. “He has really matured on a level that we expected him to when we recruited him. Josh brings a lot of intangibles to the court including his post presence and leadership. Opponents have to match his physicality in the paint, because he can be a handful. I’m very happy to see him receive this kind of respect from the other coaches in the league, because Josh has really put in the hard work during his time here.”

Nzeakor is coming off a banner season in 2017-18 that saw him average nearly 13 points per game and become one of the league’s elite rebounders. A three-year letterwinner with the Cardinals, Nzeakor has played in 97 games earning 85 starts during his time on campus.

Last season, Nzeakor ranked among the league’s top 25 in scoring and fifth in the league pulling down 7.5 rebounds per game. Nzeakor enters his senior season as the league’s second-leading returning rebounder.

A 2018 honorable mention All-Southland Conference selection, Nzeakor hit double figures 23 times last season and had seven double-figure rebound efforts. He ended the year fifth in the Southland with eight double-doubles and was named SLC Player of the Week following a stretch that saw Nzeakor average 14.5 points and 13.5 rebounds while leading the Cardinals to wins against Houston Baptist and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Nzeakor is on pace to become the next Cardinal to reach the 1,000-point club. He enters the 2018-19 campaign with 880 career points. He is also on pace to end his career among the school’s all-time top 10 in career rebounds. He has pulled down 574 rebounds in his first three seasons with the Cardinals.

Nzeakor will be counted on for his leadership in 2018-19 as one of only two seniors on the squad (Nick Garth). The Cardinals graduated six seniors from last year’s team and enter the upcoming season with five returning letterwinners and eight newcomers.

The Cardinals open the 2018-19 season Tuesday, Nov. 6 against Huston-Tillotson. The game against the Rams will tip off from the Montagne Center at 7 p.m. Tickets for the upcoming season can be purchased by calling the LU Ticket Office at 880-1715.