League-High Four Hogs Named to Coaches Pre-Season All-SEC Hoops Team

          FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A week after Arkansas sophomore guard Patrick Beverley and senior center Steven Hill were named to the pre-season All-Southeastern Conference team as selected by the media, they have been joined on the coaches pre-season team by teammates Charles Thomas and Sonny Weems.

The team, which includes an eight-player first team and a 10-player second team with ties not broken, was released by the league office on Wednesday. Arkansas led the way with four total selections. Beverley is on the first team with Hill, Thomas and Weems on the second team.

          In last week’s media poll, the Razorbacks were picked to win the Western Division title with Beverley on the first team and Hill the second.

          Arkansas, which is ranked No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, returns all five starters and nine lettermen from last year’s 21-14 club which won the Old Spice Classic, advanced to the finals of the SEC Tournament and earned a second straight NCAA Tournament bid.

          Beverley, last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year by the league’s coaches and the conference Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press, is on the pre-season watch lists for the Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy. Beverley, who was second-team All-SEC last year, ranked among league leaders in nine of 13 categories. He was 16^th in scoring (13.9), 29^th in rebounding (4.5), 15^th in assists (3.14), sixth in steals (1.74), third in free-throw percentage (.812), eighth in three-point percentage (.386), 12^th in three-point goals per game (2.09), 11^th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57) and fourth in minutes played (1,203).

          Hill was last year’s SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He has ranked second in the league in blocked shots each of his first three seasons. He is third on Arkansas’ career chart and 11^th on the SEC’s career chart with 244 rejections. His .641 field goal percentage last season was the best for a Razorback with 100 or more attempts since Oliver Miller shot 70.4 percent in 1991. Hill averaged 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots.

          Thomas led the team and was 14^th in the SEC in rebounding last year (5.7) and was third on the team in scoring with 10.7 points a game. He enters his final season with a .754 career free-throw percentage (269-357), 835 points and 433 rebounds. He needs 165 points to become the 31^st member of Arkansas’ 1,000-point club, and 176 rebounds and 57 free throws to move into the top 10 in those categories.

          Weems was second on the team in scoring (11.8), rebounding (4.8) and steals (1.3) last year, and was third in assists (2.1), field goal percentage (.485), free-throw percentage (.729) and three-point percentage (.361). He was named to the all-tournament teams at the Old Spice Classic and the SEC Tournament. He helped Arkansas win the Old Spice title with three-game averages of 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds. He helped Arkansas reach the finals of the SEC Tournament with averages of 15.0 points and 5.3 rebounds.

2007-08 SEC Coaches Pre-Season All-Southeastern Conference Team

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC           Pos     Ht      Wt      Cl       Hometown

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

Patrick Beverley, Arkansas  G        6-1     180     SO      Chicago, Ill.

Ramel Bradley, Kentucky     --       6-2     199     SR      New York, N.Y.

Tasmin Mitchell, LSU#        F        6-7     230     JR      Denham Springs, La.

Jamont Gordon, Miss. State#G/F    6-4     230     JR      Nashville, Tenn.

Charles Rhodes, Miss. State F/C     6-8     245     SR      Jackson, Miss.

Chris Lofton, Tennessee#    G        6-2     200     SR      Maysville, Ky.

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt#     G/F    6-6     205     SR      Kenner, La.

SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC      Pos     Ht      Wt      Cl       Hometown

Alonzo Gee, Alabama         F        6-6     215     JR      Riviera Beach, Fla.

Steven Hill, Arkansas          F/C     7-0     245     SR      Branson, Mo.

Charles Thomas, Arkansas   F        6-8     231     SR      Jackson, Miss.

Sonny Weems, Arkansas      F        6-6     203     SR      West Memphis, Ark.

Marreese Speights, Florida  F/C     6-10    250     SO      St. Petersburg, Fla.

Sundiata Gaines, Georgia    G        6-1     210     SR      Jamaica, N.Y.

Joe Crawford, Kentucky      --       6-5     221     SR      Detroit, Mich.

Dwayne Curtis, Ole Miss      C        6-8     262     SR      Chicago, Ill.

JaJuan Smith, Tennessee    G        6-2     195     SR      Cleveland, Tenn.

Tyler Smith, Tennessee       F        6-7     215     SO      Pulaski, Tenn.

#-Unanimous Selection; Ties are not broken