Richmond seniors TJ Cline and Shawndre’ Jones have been named to Preseason All-Atlantic 10 teams, increasing the excitement for the team’s coming season.
Cline made Preseason All-Conference First Team while Jones made the Third Team. The awards were determined by a poll of head coaches and media reporters. The same poll ranked the Spiders at sixth in the conference.
In addition to the conference honors, Sports Illustrated predicted Cline will be the fifth highest scorer in the country in their annual preseason predictions, with an estimated 19.6 points per game.
Cline has already made a name for himself in the conference, making the All-Conference Third Team last season. He finished sixth in the A-10 with 18.3 points per game, the most by a Spider since 2001. With 122 assists, he was second in the country among players 6-foot-9-inches or taller.
Cline’s 999 career points rank as the fifth most by a Spider after two seasons and his 54.0 field goal percentage also ranks fifth all-time.
This summer Cline was selected to attend the Nike Elite Basketball Academy. The academy hosts the country’s most talented high school and college players, with instructors that included many of the NBA’s top stars.
Jones, who also made the Preseason All-Conference Third Team last year, comes off a season in which he finished third on the team with 14.7 points per game and second with 3.6 assists per game.
Jones is tied for eighth all-time with a 38.3 3-point field-goal percentage and 11th all-time with 158 3-pointers made. He also won the 2015 A-10 Sixth Man of the Year award.
Kline and Jones, coupled by what coach Chris Mooney has called his best freshman class since coming to Richmond, have the potential to lead the Spiders to a strong season. The team finished last season with a 16–16 record, but only 7–11 in conference play.
The Spiders’ season begins on Nov. 11 at the Robins Center against VMI.
Contact sports writer Andrew Wilson at andrew.wilson@richmond.edu
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