Jovante' Spivey joins Kats as fourth signing
5/3/2015 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jovante' Spivey, a 6-0 170-pound guard from South Georgia State College, has signed a letter-of-intent to attend Sam Houston State University and play men's basketball for head coach Jason Hooten.
Spivey earned first-team junior college All-America honors this season and will play next week in the National Junior College All-America All-Star game in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During the 2014-15 season, Spivey averaged 22.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He shot 34.9 percent from beyond the three-point arc and was the NJCAA national leader in free throw attempts and makes with a .792 percentage from the line.
“Jovante' will be an outstanding addition to our program here at Sam Houston,” Hooten said. “His accolades from junior college are extensive. He is a player who can come in and contribute immediately. More important, he is an outstanding young man who will fit into our basketball culture here that emphasizes not only performance on the floor but leadership in the class room and the community.”
As South Georgia State's most valuable player in 2015, Spivey was named to the NJCAA All-Region 17 team and was honored as conference and District 13 “Player of the Year” and Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association All-Tournament. Putting up double figures in every game, he led the GCAA in scoring and ranked 15th nationally.
A two-time GCAA “Player of the Week”, he ranks as South Georgia's all-time leading scorer with 1,251 points and set the school record for most points in a season.
“The amount of awards, records and other accolades Jovante' Spivey has received in his time here at South Georgia State College is amazing,” SGSC head coach Cory Baldwin said. “But they do not describe how solid Spivey is as a person. He has led our program on the court, in the classroom and in the community for two years and I know he will be successful at Sam Houston but more importantly in life.”
In the class room, Spivey produced a perfect 4.0 grade point average and was named to his league's Academic All-Conference honor squad two years in a row.
As a freshman in 2013-14, Spivey tied the school record for most points in a season, ranked third in the conference in scoring and scored 20 or more points in 13 games. He was a second-team all-conference selection and was named to the league's all-freshman team.
Spivey is Sam Houston's fourth signee for the 2015-16 season. Previous signings have included Andre Sands, a a 6-8 250-pound post player from Casper College in Casper, Wyoming, Marc Fortin, a 6-9 230-pound post from Cegep De Sainte-Foy in Quebec City in Canada and Ameer Jackson, a 6-4 guard from Dodge City Community College in Kansas.
Sam Houston has totaled 50 victories the past two seasons, advancing to the finals of the Southland Conference in Katy and earning an NCAA post-season berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament for consecutive years
