Antonius Cleveland among experienced guards on Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team

Junior guard Antonius Cleveland, Southeast Missouri State's lone preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, highlights a group of guards that are the only experience Rick Ray's first team returns.

Cleveland, a 6-foot-6 guard, is one of two returning starters and one of four returners that saw significant playing time last year.

He averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds as a sophomore and shot 47.2 percent from the floor.

He started all 30 games and averaged 1.3 steals and 1.8 assists.

Cleveland had 13 points and five rebounds in Southeast's exhibition win Saturday.

"I think with Antonius it's not just his talent, but his versatility," Ray said. "He's a guy that can score in a lot of different ways. We need to continue to work on him being able to knock down open perimeter shots, but you're talking about a guy that can get to the rim and score, can score with his back to the basket some, a guy that can score off of rebounds. I think his length is a huge asset to him along with his athleticism."

Isiah Jones is the only other returning starter. Jones, a 6-4 guard, played in all 30 games, starting 19, in his first season as a walk-on.

He averaged 9.8 points on 41.1 percent shooting. He hit a team-best 65 3-pointers, shooting 39.9 percent from 3-point range. He also had 1.9 assists per game.

Jones had seven points and seven turnovers vs. Missouri S&T in the exhibition.

"I think in Isiah Jones you have a guy that the other team has to worry about as far as like his ability to make shots," Ray said. "Any time you have somebody like that it opens up the court for some of our other players."

Sophomore guard Marcus Wallace started in the exhibition and finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 19 minutes due to early foul trouble.

The 6-1 Wallace saw action in 29 games as a freshman. His minutes took a big jump over the final month of the season and he started the final two games.

He finished the season averaging 4.9 points, but scored double-figures in five of the final seven contests. He was a 47 percent shooter and his 13 3s was 38.2 percent. He averaged 1.5 assists.

"I think with Marcus Wallace you're talking about a young man that has a lot of talent, and he's an explosive basketball player," Ray said, "so I think he's a guy that can create some opportunities for not just himself but also for others in the open court."

Junior Jamaal Calvin, who played in 27 games and made seven starts also returns, but his suspension for four games to start the season was announced Saturday.

Calvin did not play in the exhibition and will not play the next three games. His suspension, for a violation of department policies and procedures will be lifted prior to the Redhawks' Nov. 24 game at Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Calvin averaged 3.9 points, knocking down 23 3-pointers during his sophomore campaign.

Ladarius Coleman, who can play as a guard or on the interior, is back for his sophomore season after playing in 10 games a year ago.

He scored 27 points and had 16 rebounds and shot 84.6 percent from the free-throw line.

The 6-5 Coleman started in the Redhawks' exhibition, scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds to go with a pair of blocks.

"I think he's similar to Antonius where his versatility comes in key because he's a guy that can do a lot of different things," Ray said. "I think he's grown into becoming a good basketball player as he gets more experience."

Sophomore guard J.T. Jones, a Sikeston graduate, is similar in that he's capable of playing multiple positions. He provided a spark off the bench in 10 games.

"Both Ladarius and J.T. help us because they can play multiple positions," Ray said in a release. "They are strong, physical and don't mind going out there and mixing it up. They are willing to use their body in order to get defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds and set good screens."

New to the guard contingent are freshmen Eric McGill and Robby Dosier.

The 6-3 Dosier had four points and two assists in 17 minutes of action against S&T.

McGill, who is 6-2, was thrust into action in the exhibition when Wallace was sidelined with foul trouble. McGill scored seven points, shooting 3-of-6, grabbed six rebounds and had three assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes.

"When you have a situation like Marcus Wallace, who you expect to play a lot of minutes at that point guard position, gets two early fouls and McGill has to come in during his first college basketball game and log a lot of minutes -- I thought he did a terrific job in the first half, so I was proud of him," Ray said after the game.