Peach Belt Releases Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team

AUGUSTA, GA -- The Peach Belt Conference released its first-ever men’s basketball preseason All-Conference team on Tuesday. Three Augusta State players were named to the team, voted on by the league’s 11 Sports Information Directors. Tyrekus ‘AJ’ Bowman, Ben Madgen and Garrett Siler were the ASU players on the team along with Georgia College & State University’s Aaron Clark and Columbus State’s Daniel Quinlan.

Bowman was the top vote-getter in the balloting and only unanimous choice. Named a preseason first-team All-America selection by the Sporting News, the senior from Tignall, Ga. was the 2007 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and an NABC All-American selection as a junior. He was also named the Georgia Player of the Year among all divisions by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club. He led the Peach Belt with 20.5 ppg last year and also had 7.5 rebounds per game.

Ben Madgen was the 2007 Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and a PBC All-Conference selection. A sophomore from Williamstown, Australia, he ranked second on the Jaguars and eighth in the PBC in scoring at 15.6 ppg and is one of five returning starters for the Jaguars.

Garrett Siler was named a Peach Belt Conference all-conference selection as a sophomore in his first year as a starter. He led the nation and was ranked first in the league in field goal percentage and was eighth in rebounding and 16th in scoring. The junior from Augusta, Ga., was also ranked 14th in the nation in blocked shots at 2.4 per game.

Aaron Clark was named PBC All-Conference for GCSU in 2007 after averaging 16.1 ppg and 7.9 rpg. The senior from Suwanee, Ga., surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career last year and is currently second in career blocks and fifth in career rebounds at the school.

Daniel Quinlan begins his first year at Columbus State after transferring to the school from former Peach Belt member USC Upstate, which left for the Division I ranks over the summer. The junior from Charleston, S.C., averaged 13.9 ppg for the Spartans in 2007 and was named the 2006 PBC Tournament Most Valuable Player and the 05-06 PBC Freshman of the Year.

The 2007 PBC basketball season begins on Nov. 9 when Columbus State plays in the Disney Classic in Orlando. The men’s basketball preseason coaches poll will be released on Thursday.