News       
from ABAC

Michael D. Chason
Director of Public Relations
ABAC 30 -- 2802 Moore Highway
Tifton, GA 31793-2601
Phone 229-391-5055
Fax 229-391-5056
mchason@abac.edu

 

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IMMEDIATE                                                                                                                                                                                    MARCH 13, 2007

 

SHEPPARD TO COACH ALL-STAR TEAM AT FINAL FOUR

 

TIFTON—Todd Sheppard, head coach of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College men’s basketball team, has been selected to coach a team made up of two-year college all-stars as part of the  NCAA Final Four event in Atlanta.

Sheppard is in the process of selecting players from the Southeast to make up the team for the JUCOland National All-Star game.  Two ABAC players, sophomores Brandon Shingles and Leon Buchanan, both of Albany, have already been named to the squad.  Both players were selected first team members of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 17 squad.  

Shingles, a business major, ranked number one in the league in assists and ranked eighth nationally in that category. He was fourth in the league in field goal percentage. He averaged 9.5 points per game with 5.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per contest.

Buchanan, a communications major, ranked second in the league in field goal percentage and fourth in the league in assists. He averaged 17.1 points per game to lead ABAC in scoring. 

“I am familiar with a lot of these players, but I am definitely very loyal to Georgia in my selection,” Sheppard said. “The team, however, will be a mixture of players from Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.”

The All-Star game will pit the top two-year college players in America against each other in a showcase of the best talent available. “I’m very excited about coaching an all-star team,” Sheppard said. “It should be a very talented group.”

The all-star event will take place on April 1 in Atlanta at McEachern High School at 4 p.m.   It is sandwiched between the NCAA Final Four semifinal games on March 31 and the national championship game on April 2 at the Georgia Dome.

 Sheppard led the Stallions to a record of 27-5 this season and a second place finish in the NJCAA Region 17 tournament. That record represented the most wins in ABAC basketball history.  His team was ranked as high as ninth in the national poll at one point.  Sheppard, in his fourth year as the ABAC head coach, was selected as Coach of the Year by his peers in Georgia.

 

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