2011 All-Conference Men’s And Women’s Basketball Awards Announced
ROCK HILL, SC - Lincoln Memorial University junior forward Desmond Johnson, who helped lead the Railsplitters to the conference championship as one of the league's top scorers and rebounders, and Tusculum senior guard Jasmine Gunn, who led the conference in scoring and guided the Pioneers to the conference championship, were named the 2010-11 South Atlantic Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Players of the Year, the league announced today.
Johnson ranked eighth in the league in scoring at 15.5 points per game and was second in rebounding at 8.8 boards per game. He made 63.8 percent of his field goals, also second in the league. He was a key player for the Railsplitters, who are 25-2 overall and ranked 12th nationally.
Gunn repeats at Player of the Year. This season, she helped lead the Pioneers to their third conference title in the past four years. She averaged a league-best 19.8 points per game, which ranks 12th nationally. She was fourth in the conference in assists at 3.35 per game and ninth in steals at 1.77 per game. She is the South Atlantic Conference all-time leader in free throws made and attempted.
Catawba College's Keon Moore was named the Men's Freshman of the Year. Moore averaged 16.8 points, sixth-best in the conference, and made 55 3-pointers, also sixth-best in the league.
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Desmond Johnson |
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Jasmine Gunn |
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Keon Moore |
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Shannon Depew |
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Nick Trull |
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Brittini Young |
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Josh Schertz |
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Todd Starkey |
Carson-Newman College's Shannon Depew was named the Women's Freshman of the Year. In her rookie season, Depew averaged 9.7 points and 7.2 rebounds and led the conference with 2.07 blocked shots per game.
Lincoln Memorial coach Josh Schertz, who guided the Railsplitters to their first SAC championship, was named Men's Coach of the Year.
Lenoir-Rhyne University coach Todd Starkey, was named the Women's Coach of the Year for the third year in a row. This season, Starkey guided a very young team to an 11-7 conference record and 14-13 overall, as well as a third-place finish after being picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll.
Joining Johnson on the men's All-Conference First Team are: Brandon Young, Anderson University; Josh Roper, Brevard; Dominick Reid, Catawba; D'Mario Curry, Lincoln Memorial; and Odell Turner, Wingate.
The men's All-Conference Second Team consists of: Kevis Cornwell, Anderson; Sammy Emile, Mars Hill; Dion Malachi, Mars Hill; Tony Davis, Newberry; Robert Troutman, Tusculum; and Jaime Vaughn, Wingate.
Joining Moore on the men's All-Freshman Team are: Denzail Jones, Anderson; Ishmael Sanders, Carson-Newman; Allan Jones, Lenoir-Rhyne; and Vincent Bailey, Lincoln Memorial.
Joining Gunn on the women's All-Conference First Team are: Mandy Mendenhall , Carson-Newman; Dana Hicks, Catawba; Cameron Sealey, Lenoir-Rhyne; Brittini Young, Mars Hill; Helen McKinney, Newberry; and Kurie Washington, Wingate. The first team has seven players because of a tie for the final spot.
The women's All-Conference Second Team consists of: Ashley Abed, Anderson; Zoriah Williams, Carson-Newman; Milica Ivanovic, Catawba; Taylor Deal, Mars Hill; and Catherine Hintz, Tusculum.
Joining Depew on the women's All-Freshman team are: Whitney Brinkley, Lenoir-Rhyne; Tyler Carlson, Mars Hill; Ellie Gleeson, Newberry; and Janitsha Williams, Wingate.
Mars Hill's Young was named the SAC Scholar-Athlete for women's basketball, while Anderson's Nick Trull was named SAC Scholar-Athlete for men's basketball.
Young is a senior guard and averaged 17.6 points per game, fifth-best in the conference, this season. She led the conference in scoring as a sophomore and junior. She led the conference this year in three-point percentage, and was second in assists and free-throw percentage and is a three-time All-Conference selection. In the classroom, Young has a 3.77 GPA, majoring in business with minors in accounting and Spanish. She is a member of the business honors club and was named to the Capital One Academic All-District Women's Basketball District III College Division team. Young is extremely active on the campus. She is currently the vice president of the Mars Hill Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the second year. This group has been a part in raising over $7,000 for the Make a Wish foundation, the Kay Yow Cancer Foundation, a local family, and the Haiti relief fund. She is also a student ambassador for Mar Hill College and serves as president of that group. She also served as an intern in the president's office at Mars Hill.
Trull is a junior majoring in kinesiology and carries a 3.94 GPA. He averaged 9.6 points this season and was second on the team with 45 three-pointers and made better than 88 percent of his free throws. He was named to the Capital One Academic All-District Three team and is a member of the Chi Sigma Alpha national honor society. Trull serves as the men's basketball representative on the Anderson Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and volunteers his time as a coach for a youth basketball team. He is a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, participated in a clean-up campaign for Anderson public parks and serves a camp counselor at the Hickory Grove Baptist Church summer camp.
The 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference men's and women's basketball semifinals are Saturday at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. The women's award winners will be recognized after the Noon contest between Tusculum and Newberry on Saturday, while the men's award winners will be recognized after 5:30 p.m. game between Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum.
The championship games are set for Sunday. The men's and women's tournament winner receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament.
2011 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS AND AWARD RECIPIENTS
MEN'S TEAMS
ALL-SAC FIRST TEAM
Brandon Young, Anderson
Josh Roper, Brevard
Dominick Reid, Catawba
D'Mario Curry , Lincoln Memorial
Desmond Johnson, Lincoln Memorial
Odell Turner, Wingate
ALL-SAC SECOND TEAM
Kevis Cornwell, Anderson
Sammy Emile, Mars Hill
Dion Malachi, Mars Hill
Tony Davis, Newberry
Robert Troutman, Tusculum
Jaime Vaughn, Wingate
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Denzail Jones, Anderson
Ishmael Sanders, Carson-Newman
Keon Moore, Catawba
Allan Jones, Lenoir-Rhyne
Vincent Bailey, Lincoln Memorial
COACH OF THE YEAR: Josh Schertz, Lincoln
Memorial
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Desmond Johnson, Lincoln
Memorial
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Keon Moore, Catawba
SAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Nick Trull, Anderson
WOMEN'S TEAMS
ALL-SAC FIRST TEAM
Mandy Mendenhall, Carson-Newman
Dana Hicks, Catawba
Cameron Sealey, Lenoir-Rhyne
Brittini Young, Mars Hill
Helen McKinney, Newberry
Jasmine Gunn, Tusculum
Kurie Washington, Wingate
ALL-SAC SECOND TEAM
Ashley Abed, Anderson
Zoriah Williams, Carson-Newman
Milica Ivanovic, Catawba
Taylor Deal, Mars Hill
Catherine Hintz, Tusculum
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Shannon Depew, Carson-Newman
Whitney Brinkley, Lenoir-Rhyne
Tyler Carlson, Mars Hill
Ellie Gleeson, Newberry
Janitsha Williams, Wingate
COACH OF THE YEAR: Todd Starkey,
Lenoir-Rhyne
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jasmine Gunn, Tusculum
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Shannon Depew,
Carson-Newman
SAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Brittini Young, Mars Hill
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STATISTICAL CHAMPIONS
The SAC Statistical Champion Award recognizes those individuals and teams that have finished the regular season as SAC leaders in various overall statistical categories. Individual leaders must have participated in 75 percent of the team's games.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Points Per Game - Josh Roper, Brevard, 21.2
Rebounds Per Game - Josh Jordan, Brevard, 8.9
Field Goal Percentage - Taylor Shugart, Anderson, .651
Assists Per Game - Bradley Tumer, Carson-Newman, 6.24
Steals Per Game - Josh Roper, Brevard, 2.56
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - Cam Carden, Lincoln Memorial,
.453
3-Pointers Per Game - Ishmael Sanders, Carson-Newman, 2.81
Blocked Shots Per Game - Dion Malachi, Mars Hill, 2.88
Free Throw Percentage - Rob Troutman, Tusculum, .848
Assist-To-Turnover Ratio - Dominick Reid, Catawba, 1.67
Team Scoring Offense - Newberry College, 85.9
Team Field Goal Percentage - Lincoln Memorial University, .500
Team Field Goal Percentage Defense - Lincoln Memorial University,
.387
Team Steals - Newberry College, 12.69
Team Assists - Lincoln Memorial University, 15.65
Team Rebounding - Newberry College, 43.6
Team Blocked Shots - Mars Hill College, 5.23
Team 3-Point Field Goal Percentage - Wingate University, .392
Team Scoring Defense - Tusculum College, 64.8
Team Free Throw Percentage - Tusculum College, .779
Team Assist-to-Turnover Ratio - Lincoln Memorial University,
1.00
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Points Per Game - Jasmine Gunn, Tusculum, 19.8
Rebounds Per Game - Dana Hicks, Catawba, 11.4
Field Goal Percentage - Staci Hicks, Tusculum, .558
Assists Per Game - Jessica Bearzatto, Newberry, 5.15
Steals Per Game - Micheala Watkins, Brevard, 2.68
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - Brittini Young, Mars Hill, .438
3-Pointers Per Game - Helen McKinney, Newberry, 2.69
Blocked Shots Per Game - Shannon Depew, Carson-Newman College,
2.07
Free Throw Percentage - Ashley Abed, Anderson, .890
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio - Jessica Bearzatto, Newberry, 2.48
Team Scoring Offense - Mars Hill College, 74.8
Team Field Goal Percentage - Lincoln Memorial University, .417
Team Field Goal Percentage Defense - Wingate University, .370
Team 3-Point Field Goal Percentage - Wingate University, .376
Team Assists - Mars Hill College, 14.27
Team Steals - Lincoln Memorial University, 10.62
Team Scoring Defense - Tusculum College, 60.1
Team Rebounding - Catawba College, 42.7
Team Free Throw Percentage - Wingate University, .759
Team Blocked Shots - Carson-Newman College, 3.93
Team Assist-to-Turnover Ratio - Newberry College, 0.81
2010-11 SAC MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SENIOR AWARD RECIPIENTS
Anderson University
Ashley Abed
Alexa Neal
John Britton
Kevis Cornwell
Andrew Driver
Oskars Ernsteins
Brandon Young
Brevard College
Micah Lajoie
Amber Roberts
Amanda Whitaker
Brianna Worley
Josh Roper
Josh Jordan
Donald Hudson
Whitney Galloway
Carson Newman College
Katlin Moore
Amber Blackwell
Mandy Mendenhall
Erwin Staten
Brandon Evans
Catawba College
Jennifer Dameron
Anna Dellapenta
Milica Ivanovic
Kisha Long
Dominick Reid
Trey Shoemaker
Lenoir-Rhyne University
Ashley Pearson
Nathaniel Shaw
Lincoln Memorial University
LaChelle Hyatt
Whitney Holmes
D'Mario Curry
Kierre Jordan
Sheldon Oliver
Mars Hill College
Brittini Young
Dion Malachi
Barry Rice
Julian Mack
Newberry College
Jessica Bearzatto
Helen McKinney
Leanne Watson
Briana Johnson
Tony Davis
Danny Huffor
Ray Robinson
Charles Ndoloum
Tusculum College
Jasmine Gunn
Jasmine Parker
Brittni Oliver
Catherine Hintz
Rob Troutman
Wingate University
Cierra Brooks