McNeese basketball: 6-foot-3 guard Harvey out, 6-foot-6 Jones is in

Published 3:31 pm Monday, June 5, 2023

One exits and another one enters.

The revolving door that has become the McNeese State basketball roster had one final turn before summer workouts began Monday.

Zach Harvey, the 6-foot-3 guard who was coming to McNeese from the University of California-Santa Barbara, has elected to turn professional instead of joining the Cowboys.

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Harvey, who started his career at Cincinnati, is looking to take his game to Europe. He was expected to be a swingman and was one of Will Wade’s first commits in March. Wade didn’t waste any time filling the opening.

Late last week the former LSU head coach signed Cameron Jones from South Carolina State. Jones is 6-6 and has played the last two seasons unlike Harvey. Jones officially became a Cowboy over the weekend.

“We wish Zach the best of luck in his career,” said Wade.

The Cowboys turn to Jones in hopes of adding more fire power to the team. Jones averaged 9.8 points over 46 games at SCSU. He also pulled down 3.9 rebounds.

Last season Jones, who comes to McNeese as a grad transfer, improved his long-range shooting, connection on 36.1 percent of his three-point attempts.

“Cam is a veteran who can make shots and is long and athletic,” said Wade. “He fits into our defensive schemes very well. We are excited to welcome him to McNeese.”

Wade has said he hopes the team can use the summer to get bigger and stronger while learning the style he likes to play.

“It is important that we set the type of culture we want and put in the work we will need during the season,” Wade said.

McNeese is looking to rebound from a season that suffered through a program-record 23 losses. Many national publications have the Cowboys picked to win the Southland Conference this season.