Western Kentucky’s Justin Johnson has been named to the 2016-17 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team, while WKU has been picked to finish third in the league, as announced Thursday by the league office.
Johnson, a 6-foot-7 junior forward from Hazard, is WKU’s first preseason all-conference selection since George Fant and T.J. Price both made the list in the Hilltoppers’ inaugural season in C-USA in 2014-15.
Johnson was a steady force for the Hilltoppers during the 2015-16 season, appearing in 34 games with 26 starts. He finished the campaign averaging 14.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest, becoming the first Hilltopper to lead the program in both categories since Derrick Gordon in 2011-12.