Oct. 23, 2006

The Southeastern Conference unveiled its third annual men’s basketball coaches preseason All-SEC first and second teams, Monday, to tip off another great season of SEC men’s basketball. Gamecock senior Tre’ Kelley was named to the All-SEC Second team, following USC’s Tarence Kinsey from last season pre-season.

Kelley is the team’s returning leading scorer with 12.5 ppg. Kelley led the SEC in assists with 4.6 apg. A native of Washington, D.C., Kelley set the school record last season for minutes played in a single season (1330), games started in a single season (38) and tied with three others in games played in a season (38).

USC Head Coach Dave Odom had this to say about Kelley late last week: “I continue to amazed that media and/or experts around, locally and around the country, haven’t gained a real appreciation for Tre’ Kelley as a national caliber guard,” said Odom. “What he has done in the post-season in the last couple years and even the regular season shows great growth. He has played against some of the very best guards in the country and only on an occasion has he been outplayed. He has a real understanding now of how we want the game played and he’s terrific at running the team. I am really proud of his development as a player and a person.”

Florida led all schools with four selections. Alabama’s Ronald Steele, Florida’s Joakim Noah, LSU’s Glen Davis and Tennessee’s Chris Lofton were unanimous selections. The coaches preseason All-SEC first and second teams consist of a minimum of eight players on each squad, voted on by the SEC Head Men’s Basketball Coaches. No ties were broken and no predicted order of finish was made.

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC POS HT WT CL HOMETOWN

Jermareo Davidson, Alabama F 6-10 230 Sr. Atlanta, Ga.

Ronald Steele, Alabama# G 6-3 185 Jr. Birmingham, Ala.

Corey Brewer, Florida F 6-9 185 Jr. Portland, Tenn.

Al Horford, Florida F/C 6-10 245 Jr. Puerto Plata, Dom. Republic

Joakim Noah, Florida# F/C 6-11 227 Jr. New York, N.Y.

Glen Davis, LSU# F 6-9 295 Jr. Baton Rouge, La.

Chris Lofton, Tennessee# G 6-2 197 Jr. Maysville, Ky.

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt G/F 6-6 200 Jr. Kenner, La.

SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC POS HT WT CL HOMETOWN

Tre’ Kelley, South Carolina G 6-0 188 Sr. Washington, D.C.

Richard Hendrix, Alabama F 6-8 265 So. Athens, Ala.

Darian Townes, Arkansas F 6-10 254 Jr. Alexandria, Va.

Taurean Green, Florida G 6-0 177 Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Mike Mercer, Georgia G 6-4 185 So. Snellville, Ga.

Randolph Morris, Kentucky C 6-11 259 Jr. Atlanta, Ga.

Tasmin Mitchell, LSU F 6-7 224 So. Denham Springs, La.

Jamont Gordon, Miss. State G/F 6-4 225 So. Nashville, Tenn.

Charles Rhodes, Miss. State F/C 6-8 240 Jr. Jackson, Miss.

#-Unanimous Selection; Ties are not broken