Trio of Georgia State players honored with CAA awards
A trio of Georgia State basketball players were honored at the Colonial Athletic Association awards banquet on Thursday in Richmond, Va.
Jihad Ali earned third team All-CAA, All-Academic first team and shared the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award. Ali is is studying sports administration in graduate school at Georgia State. He averaged a team-high 13 points with 5.8 rebounds per game. Ali is the first Georgia State player to earn the Ehlers Award, which “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.”
Eric Buckner earned several honors, including third team All-CAA and All-Defensive team. Buckner, who averaged 10.8 points per game and led the CAA with 106 blocks, finished second to Old Dominion’s Kent Bazemore in the defensive player of the year voting. Bazemore received 19 votes to Buckner’s 15.
James Fields was named to the All-Academic second team.
Georgia State coach Ron Hunter finished second to Drexel’s Bruiser Flint in the Coach of the Year voting. Flint received 19 votes to Hunter’s 15. Hunter led the Panthers to 20 wins for the fourth time in school history, while Flint led the Dragons to the most wins (25) in the regular season in school history.
George Mason’s Ryan Pearson was named the Player of the Year, and Drexel’s Damion Lee was named Rookie of the Year. William and Mary’s Quinn McDowell shared the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award with Ali.
2011-12 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
First Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion Sr. G 6-5 195 Kelford, N.C./Bertie
Bradford Burgess, VCU Sr. G/F 6-6 225 Midlothian, Va./Benedictine
Frantz Massenat, Drexel So. G 6-4 185 Ewing, N.J./Trenton Catholic
Ryan Pearson, George Mason Sr. F 6-6 237 Far Rockaway, N.Y./Christ the King
Keith Rendleman, UNCW Jr. F 6-8 213 Iron Station, N.C./East Lincoln
Second Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Chris Cooper, Old Dominion Sr. F 6-9 230 Dumfries, Va./Forest Park
Samme Givens, Drexel Sr. F 6-5 220 Philadelphia, Pa./Acad. of the New Church
Jamelle Hagins, Delaware Jr. F 6-9 240 Roanoke, Va./William Fleming
Mike Moore, Hofstra Sr. G 6-5 200 New Haven, Conn./Hillhouse
Devon Saddler, Delaware So. G 6-2 205 Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen/Winchendon Prep
Third Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Jihad Ali, Georgia State Sr. G 6-5 200 Atlanta, Ga./Martin Luther King
Eric Buckner, Georgia State Sr. F 6-10 203 Ehrhardt, S.C./Bamberg-Ehrhardt
Humpty Hitchens, James Madison Sr. G 5-9 185 Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe
Jonathan Lee, Northeastern Jr. G 6-2 200 Flint, Mich./Flint Carmen-Ainworth
Juvonte Reddic, VCU So. F 6-9 235 Winston-Salem, N.C./Quality Education Acad.
Darius Theus, VCU Jr. G 6-3 200 Portsmouth, Va./I.C. Norcom
2012 CAA Player of the Year – Ryan Pearson, George Mason
2012 CAA Coach of the Year – Bruiser Flint, Drexel
2012 CAA Rookie of the Year – Damion Lee, Drexel
2012 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion
2012 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Jihad Ali, Georgia State and Quinn McDowell, William and Mary
CAA All-Rookie Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Quincy Ford, Northeastern Fr. G/F 6-8 212 St. Petersburg, Fla./Gibbs
Damion Lee, Drexel Fr. G 6-6 190 Owings Mills, Md./St. Thomas More
Adam Smith, UNCW Fr. G 6-1 161 Jonesboro, Ga./Fayette County
Marcus Thornton, William & Mary Fr. G 6-4 170 Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara
Jarvis Threatt, Delaware Fr. G 6-2 170 Highland Springs, Va./Highland Springs
CAA All-Defensive Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion Sr. G 6-5 195 Kelford, N.C./Bertie
Eric Buckner, Georgia State Sr. F 6-10 203 Ehrhardt, S.C./Bamberg-Ehrhardt
Jamelle Hagins, Delaware Jr. F 6-9 240 Roanoke, Va./William Fleming
Robert Nwankwo, Towson Sr. C 6-8 220 Hyattsville, Md./Parkdale
Briante Weber, VCU Fr. G 6-3 160 Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge
CAA All-Academic First Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Jihad Ali, Georgia State Sr. G 6-5 200 Atlanta, Ga./Martin Luther King
Trian Iliadis, Old Dominion Sr. G 6-3 185 Perth, Western Australia/Trinity College
Quinn McDowell, William & Mary Sr. G/F 6-6 215 Mason, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller
Dwan McMillan, Hofstra Sr. G 6-0 180 Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Benedict’s
Tim Rusthoven, William & Mary So. F 6-9 230 Winfield, Ill./Wheaton Academy
CAA All-Academic Second Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Brandon Britt, William & Mary So. G 6-1 182 Chesapeake, Va./Atlantic Shores Christian
James Fields, Georgia State Sr. G 6-4 182 Savannah, Ga./Urban Christian
Erique Gumbs, Towson So. F 6-9 230 Newark, Del./Caravel Academy
Jonathan Lee, Northeastern Jr. G 6-2 200 Flint, Mich./Flint Carmen-Ainworth
Tanner Milson, UNCW So. G 6-3 190 Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill
CAA All-Academic Hon. Mention Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Rob Brandenberg, VCU So. G 6-2 180 Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln
Kyle Gaillard, William & Mary Jr. F 6-8 220 Huntersville, N.C./North Mecklenburg
Matt Grogan, Hofstra Jr. G 6-5 195 Middle Village, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy
Fred Heldring, William & Mary So. F 6-9 240 Winnetka, Ill./New Trier
Doug Howard, William & Mary Jr. G 5-9 160 Leesburg, Va./Flint Hill
Anton Larsen, Old Dominion So. F 7-0 240 Copenhagen, Denmark/Oster Farimagsgades
Jacob Lerner, Drexel So. G 6-2 190 Philadelphia, Pa./Abington Friends
Stevan Manojlovic, Drexel So. G 6-5 197 Toronto, Ontario/Martingrove Collegiate Inst
Andrew Pavloff, William & Mary Jr. F 6-9 250 Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit
Ryan Pierson, Northeastern So. F/C 6-10 235 St. Louis, Mo./Christian Brothers
Gene Swindle, James Madison Jr. C 6-11 260 Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep
Will Townsville, Delaware Jr. G 6-3 180 Newark, Del./Glasgow
VOTE TOTALS
ALL-CAA TEAMS
Ryan Pearson, Mason
657
Frantz Massenat, Drexel 607
Kent Bazemore, ODU 594
Bradford Burgess, VCU 488
Keith Rendleman, UNCW 486
Jamelle Hagins, Delaware 417
Devon Saddler, Delaware 415
Samme Givens, Drexel 335
Mike Moore, Hofstra 311
Chris Cooper, ODU 231
Jonathan Lee, Northeastern 192
Eric Buckner, Georgia State 183
Jihad Ali, Georgia State 141
Juvonte Reddic, VCU 127
Humpty Hitchens, JMU 121
Darius Theus, VCU 121
A.J. Davis, JMU 69
Quinn McDowell, W&M 67
Robert Nwankwo, Towson 53
Damion Lee, Drexel 52
Mike Morrison, Mason 47
Devonta White, GSU 9
Nathaniel Lester, Hofstra 8
Marcus Thornton, W&M 8
Joel Smith, Northeastern 7
Josh Micheaux, GSU 6
Adam Smith, UNCW 6
Daryl McCoy, Drexel 2
Sherrod Wright, Mason 1
ALL-ROOKIE
Damion Lee, Drexel 207
Quincy Ford, Northeastern 155
Adam Smith, UNCW 125
Marcus Thornton, W&M 110
Jarvis Threatt, Delaware 72
Kyle Anderson, Delaware 19
Treveon Graham, VCU 11
Briante Weber, VCU 11
Kris Walden, Towson 4
Dimitri Batten, ODU 2
Khalid Lewis, Delaware 2
Erik Copes, George Mason 1
Cedrick Williams, UNCW 1
ALL-DEFENSE
Kent Bazemore, ODU 184
Eric Buckner, Georgia State 172
Jamelle Hagins, Delaware 135
Briante Weber, VCU 64
Robert Nwankwo, Towson 45
James Fields, Georgia State 23
Keith Rendleman, UNCW 17
Chris Cooper, ODU 13
Daryl McCoy, Drexel 9
Mike Morrison, Mason 8
Derrick Thomas, Drexel 8
Samme Givens, Drexel 7
Quincy Ford, Northeastern 6
Devonta White, GSU 6
Darius Theus, VCU 5
Kendrix Brown, W&M 4
Treveon Graham, VCU 4
Frantz Massenat, Drexel 4
Devon Moore, JMU 3
Bradford Burgess, VCU 1
Josh Micheaux, GSU 1
Juvonte Reddic, VCU 1
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ryan Pearson, Mason 28
Frantz Massenat, Drexel 14
Kent Bazemore, ODU 5
Keith Rendleman, UNCW 1
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Damion Lee, Drexel 36
Quincy Ford, Northeastern 8
Marcus Thornton, W&M 2
Adam Smith, UNCW 1
Jarvis Threatt, Delaware 1
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kent Bazemore, ODU 19
Eric Buckner, Georgia State 15
Jamelle Hagins, Delaware 13
Briante Weber, VCU 1
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bruiser Flint, Drexel 19
Ron Hunter, Georgia State 15
Shaka Smart, VCU 7
Monte’ Ross, Delaware 6
Blaine Taylor, ODU 1
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7 comments Add your comment
GSU is in Atlanta
March 1st, 2012
10:29 pm
Congrats to Ali, Fields, and Buckner, but Hunter and Buckner got robbed for not winning COY and DOY!
Thanks for the coverage Doug, have fun in Richmond.
Ryan
March 1st, 2012
10:30 pm
Very happy for the guys honored. Pissed about the COY and DPOY snubs. I guess that is what we get for playing in the VAA.
Trio of Georgia State players honored with CAA awards – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | CAAZone.com
March 2nd, 2012
12:31 am
[...] Trio of Georgia State players honored with CAA awardsAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)A trio of Georgia State basketball players were honored at the Colonial Athletic Association awards banquet on Thursday in Richmond, Va. Jihad Ali earned third team All-CAA, All-Academic first team and shared the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.and more » [...]
Panama
March 2nd, 2012
12:38 am
5th in the NATION in blocked shots and passed over for DPOY?????
GSU will move spring football practice back a week | Georgia State Sports
March 2nd, 2012
6:01 am
[...] If you missed it last night, here’s the list of award winners at the Colonial Athletic Associa… [...]
Dick Jerardi: Best option for Drexel: Win CAA Tournament – Philadelphia Inquirer | CAAZone.com
March 2nd, 2012
9:31 am
[...] CAA player of the yearWashington PostColonial Athletic conference tournament previewNBCSports.comTrio of Georgia State players honored with CAA awardsAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)The Virginian-Pilot -Ology -Bleacher Reportall 28 news [...]
GSU_MEX_ALUM
March 2nd, 2012
4:16 pm
I agree with Panama!