Big South

2008 CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major All-Americans

CHN — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:12:32 -0700

CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major Player of the Year: Stephen Curry (Davidson)

CollegeHoops.net First Team Mid-Major All-American
G: Stephen Curry (Davidson)
G: Mike Green (Butler)
G: Courtney Lee (WKU)
F AZ Reid (High Point)
F: Jason Thompson (Rider)

CollegeHoops.net Second Team Mid-Major All-American
G: Lester Hudson (UT- Martin)
G: Patty Mills (Saint Mary’s)
G: George Hill (IUPUI)
F: Reggie Williams (VMI)
F: Gyno Pomare (San Diego)

CollegeHoops.net Third Team Mid-Major All-American
G: Al Fisher (Kent State)
G: Bo McCalebb (New Orleans)
F: Charron Fisher (Niagara)
F: Kyle Hines (UNCG)
F: Ryan Wittman (Cornell)

CollegeHoops.net FourthTeam Mid-Major All-American
G: Alex Harris (UCSB)
G: AJ Graves (Butler)
G: Demetric Bennett (South Alabama)
F: Tim Pollitz (Miami)
F: Thomas Sanders (Gardner Webb)

Mid-Major Honorable Mention:
Josh Alexander (Stephen F Austin), Marqus Blakely (Vermont), John Bryant (Santa Clara), J’Nathan Bullock (Cleveland State), Scott Cutley (Fullerton), Jeremiah Dominguez (Portland State), Justin Hare (Belmont), Brandon Johnson (San Diego), Dior Lowhorn (San Francisco), Jason Richards (Davidson), Jonathan Rodriguez (Campbell), Greg Sprink (Navy)

The CollegeHoops.net All-American teams are voted on by staff writers. Up tomorrow are our All-Rookie teams.

CHN 2007-08 Postseason Awards

All-Americans, All-Rookie, Top Coaches & more!

Kenny Thomas is Big South Player of the Week

Press Release — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:26:32 -0800

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Radford junior guard Kenny Thomas (Richmond, Va.) and Charleston Southern forward Omar Carter (Charlotte, N.C.) have been selected as the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Men’s Basketball Player of the Week and New Balance Freshman of the Week, respectively, for games played from Dec. 3-9, it was announced today by the League office.

Thomas had the best week of his career last week as he averaged 23.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in leading the Highlanders to two wins. He took the reigns and led Radford to a double-overtime win at Gardner-Webb with a career-high 24 points, including 11 of the Highlanders’ 14 points in the second overtime period. He also had four assists and seven rebounds in the game, and was 12-of-15 ( =.800 percent) from the free throw line. In Saturday’s home win over Campbell, Thomas netted 23 points on 8-of-14 field goals, including 5-of-8 from three-point range (tying a career-high for three-pointers). He scored 11-straight points for the Highlanders to spur a 13-4 RU run that gave Radford the lead for good. For the week, Thomas was 13-of-26 from the field ( =.500), 7-of-14 from the arc ( =.500), 14-of-18 from the line ( =.778) and averaged 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals.

Carter registered the third double-double of his young CSU career last Monday against Mercer, posting 21 points and 10 rebounds in CSU’s one-point loss to the Bears. He scored 14 points in the second half while missing one field goal attempt, and hit two key three-pointers down the stretch to give CSU a late lead. Carter finished the night 8-of-14 from the floor ( =.571), 4-of-7 from long range ( =.571) and added two assists and two steals.

Other Player of the Week Nominees: Omar Carter (Charleston Southern), Arizona Reid (High Point), Alex McLean (Liberty), Reggie Williams (VMI) and Michael Jenkins (Winthrop).

Other Freshman of the Week Nominees: Earnest Bridges (High Point).

-BigSouthSports.com-

Daily Poll: Who Will Win the Big South?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:33:39 -0700

Big South Preseason All-Conference Team

Press Release — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 07:32:51 -0700

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – High Point University senior Arizona Reid (Gaffney, S.C.) has been voted the Big South Conference 2007-08 Preseason Men’s Basketball Player of the Year by the League’s Head Coaches, Sports Information Directors and media panel, it was announced today at the Conference’s annual Basketball Tip-Off Media Luncheon at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Concord, N.C. This year’s preseason All-Conference team features four players who were named to the League’s All-Freshman team in 2004-05.

Reid was the Conference’s Player of the Year in 2006-07, after leading the Big South in rebounding (9.5 per game) and finishing second in scoring (21.0) – the first player in League history to average 20 points and nine rebounds in one season. He was an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press last season and received All-District honors from the USBWA and the NABC. Reid also was fourth in the Big South in field goal percentage (.509), 10th in free throw percentage, tied for 13th in blocks per game, fourth in offensive rebounds and first in defensive rebounds. In League play last year, Reid increased his totals to 26.0 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. He also scored in double figures in 29 games, including 19 straight, surpassed the 20-point mark 19 times with five 30-point outings, and brought down a Big South single-game record 25 rebounds against VMI in late February. Reid received 21 first-place votes and finished with 134 points in the voting to earn a spot on the preseason All-Conference team.

2007-08 Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team

Arizona Reid, High Point, Sr., F
Reggie Williams, VMI, Sr., F
Michael Jenkins, Winthrop, Sr., G
Jack Leasure, Coastal Carolina, Sr., G
Chris Gaynor, Winthrop, Sr., G

Williams, who received six first-place votes and 106 total points, became the first player in Big South history to lead the nation in scoring last year with his League-record 28.1 points per game average. He was named NABC All-District 4 second-team, ranked in the top four in the Conference in points (1st), rebounding (4th), field goal percentage (3rd) and assists (3rd), and also ranked ninth in free throw percentage and 10th in steals. Williams set new Big South and VMI records for most points in a season (928), became the first player in Conference history to log three 40-point games in a career and topped 40+ points in four games last season. He had nine double-doubles, scored in double figures in 31 games last season and had 15 30-point games. Williams needs just 351 points to become the Big South’s all-time leading scorer.

Jenkins enjoyed a breakout season last year for the Eagles as he earned First-team All-Conference honors as well as All-Tournament team accolades in his first year as a starter. He developed into one of the team’s top scoring threats as well as being a defensive stopper on the perimeter. He led Winthrop in scoring with 14.8 points per game and surpassed every single season individual career best last year. Jenkins led the Big South in three-point shooting percentage (41.5 percent), scored in double figures 27 times and tied a school and Big South record for three-pointers in a game with 12 vs. North Greenville. He led the Eagles to a 77-66 win over Missouri State in the ESPNU BracketBusters with his 25-point performance and seven 3-pointers, and posted seven rebounds and 11 assists in Winthrop’s 74-64 NCAA Tournament win over Notre Dame.

Leasure has been a Conference honoree all three seasons at Coastal Carolina – All-Freshman in 2005, First-team All-Conference and Player of the Year in 2006 and Second-team All-Conference in 2007. He led CCU to its second .500-or-better season last year for the first time since 1993-94, and became just the 14th player in CCU history to reach 1,000 points in his career (currently at 1,424). Leasure enters his senior year third all-time in Big South history with 300 career three-pointers. In 2006-07, he led Coastal and ranked seventh in the League at 15.6 points per game. He also ranked in the top 10 in the Conference in three pointers (3.0 pg), three-point field goal percentage (.372), assists (3.6 pg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8). He scored in double-figures in 12-of-14 League games last year and 25-of-30 games overall.

Gaynor was named Collegeinsider.com’s National Mid-Major Most Valuable Player in 2006-07 after helping the Eagles to a 29-5 overall record, 14-0 Big South mark and NCAA Tournament first round win. He has started all 95 games of his career at Winthrop (out of 98) and has been the Eagles’ floor general since his freshman season. He ranked first in the Big South last year in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.16) and was fourth in assists (4.39), while adding eight points a game. Gaynor saw his career games started streak end due to an injury in early December, but he still led the squad with 46 steals and ranked among the Conference leaders in the steals category. He scored a career-high 19 points vs. Liberty on Feb. 6 to help fuel a 80-76 come-from-behind win. He enters his senior season in fourth-place on the Winthrop all-time assist list with 427.

Daily Dribble: 12/05

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 21:21:10 -0800

6-3 Winthrop gave it another good run against a ranked team.. falling in overtime to Wiscosnin. The Eagles pose an interesting problem for how we look at mid-major teams. For example, well-played, close losses at UNC, Maryland, and Wisconsin are impressive and have to count for something. But on the flip side, Winthrop's best win so far is at Mississippi State. We had Winthrop in our CHN Top 50 Ranking.. and I still believe they are a top 50 team.. but there gets to the point that they have to win a big game to warrant the ranking. If Purdue for example lost to those three teams and had only beaten Mississippi State and some nobodies, then it would seem perfectly normal not to put them in the Top 50. The difference though when comparing a Purdue and a Winthrop is that a Winthrop will never have the chance to play the likes of a UNC, Wisconsin, and Maryland on their home floor. Winthrop plays a 5th BCS team this year, Texas A&M, but also on the road. I'd say its an assumption that if a team goes on the road and takes a team to OT, that they would be the favored team at home. Unfortuntely, we may never know. Kansas struggled to put away USC, eventually winning 72-62 in Lawrence. USC is a solid team, about average for a BCS school.. though arguably with out its best player in Gabe Pruitt.. so why cant Kansas simply put a team like this away? I think its getting to the point though that we have to realize Kansas' supposed stockpile of talent is overrated. And here I'm particularly talking about Brandon Rush.. who is a player I have hyped since high school as being a potential NBA star. That Rush is still averaging 12 ppg at this point in his career simply shocks me. More important for Kansas, if he can't be their go to player.. then they simply will not have a go to player on offense. No doubt, the Jayhawks will score their share of points.. but without a go to player on offense and without a suffocating defense.. I guess you just have to get used to Kansas underachieving against such supreme expectations. You don't hear much about Charlotte these days. Coach Lutz almost always has his teams competing for a CUSA-now A10 title.. but the 49ers are just 3-4 after beating UNC Asheville. With a core of D'Angelo Alexander and Leemire Goldwire, this was supposed to a team capable of winning 15-20 games. The problem has been the lack of productivity from heralded newcomers. Transfer Carlos Williamson was supposed to be the answer at point, but he's averaging more turnovers (2.5) than assists per game (2.0). David Booker, a rare Top 150 recruit to go a non-BCS school, was supposed to make an impact as a freshman. The 6-7 forward though is averaging just 6 minutes per game so far this season. Its nice to see players improve and play a bigger role as their career's progress. Herbert Hill of 6-1 Providence is one of those player. The Friars starting center has substantially increased his output every season. Year one: 1 ppg, 1 rpg. Year two: 5 ppg, 3 rpg. Year three: 9 ppg, 5 rpg. So far in year four: 15 ppg and 7 rpg. Hill added another 18 points and 7 boards in their easy victory over Fairfield. You may remember Arizona AZ Reid from last year's All-Name team (the 06 version, by the way, will be out by the end of the month). Reid had 22 points and 9 boards to lead High Point over struggling Elon. High Point, like Winthrop above, is part of a Big South conference that was supposed to be one of the underrated mid-major leagues. But the conference is a disapppointing 13-27 overall against D1 teams. Granted, the league's teams, like Winthrop, have played tough schedules (9th best SOS so far) so the record is misleading. But greater things were expected out of teams like Coastal Carolina (just 1 D1 win so far.. and a bad loss to Campbell and a blow out against Xavier) and High Point (who lost to Tennessee Martin to start the season). - Show some love.. bookmark the Dribble -

Big South Conference Preview

CHN — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 09:40:25 -0800

Conference Previews | Top 144 | 06-07 Preview Home

Big South Preview

Conference Rank: 19th

Conference Page

All-Conference

Player of the Year - Jack Leasure, Coastal Carolina, G

Torrell Martin, Winthrop, G

Larry Blair, Liberty, G

Chris Oliver, Radford, F

Craig Bradshaw, Winthrop, F/C

Nat'l	Team (Click for Preview)	Conf	Tourney
77	Winthrop	1	NCAA
112	High Point	2
141	Coastal Carolina	3
189	Charleston So	4
219	Radford	5
272	VMI	6
293	Liberty	7
310	UNC Asheville	8

Other Big South Articles

Who is the Best Mid-Major Team?

Who Will Be the Best Mid-Major Team?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:35:43 -0700