Saint Joseph's senior Pat Carroll and La Salle junior Steven Smith were selected Atlantic 10 men's basketball Players of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference's head coaches.
The Atlantic 10 coaches also voted Bryant Dunston of Fordham as Rookie of the Year, Saint Joseph's Dwayne Jones as Defensive Player of the Year, Kieron Achara of Duquesne as the Chris Daniels Award winner as the league's most improved player, J.R. Pinnock of George Washington as Sixth Man of the Year, and Saint Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli as Coach of the Year. Brian Thornton of Xavier was selected as the Student-Athlete of the Year in voting among the league's sports information directors.
Smith leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring, averaging 20.3 ppg upon entering this week's Atlantic 10 Championship at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. The 6-8 junior from Philadelphia is also third in the A-10 in rebounding at 8.5 rpg. Despite constant double-teams, Smith managed an Atlantic 10-best 14 double figure scoring games, including seven in league play. He also posted 10 double-doubles, eight of which came against Atlantic 10 opponents. He is the first La Salle player to earn Player of the Year honors since the Explorers joined the A-10 10 years ago.
Carroll is the second Saint Joseph's player to earn Player of the Year honors in as many seasons, following in the footsteps of Jameer Nelson. The 6-5 senior from Horsham, PA, is the Hawks' leading scorer at 17.3 ppg. He also leads the A-10 in scoring in league games with a 19.5 ppg average. The A-10's all-time leader in career three-point field goal percentage, Carroll leads the league again this year with at 45.4%. His 99 career three-pointers tie the Saint Joseph's record held by Marvin O'Connor.
Joining Smith and Carroll on the All-Conference first-team are Temple's Mardy Collins, Rashaun Freeman of Massachusetts, and T.J. Thompson of George Washington.
The All-Conference second-team consists of Dunston, Jones, Mike Hall and Pops Mensah-Bonsu of George Washington, and Duquesne's Bryant McAllister. On the third-team are Justin Cage of Xavier, Rhode Island's Scott Hazelton, Monty Scott of Dayton, St. Bonaventure's Ahmad Smith, and Richmond's Kevin Steenberge.
Dunston earned six Rookie of the Week awards in 2004-05. The 6-8 forward from Queens, NY, is the Rams' leading scorer (14.9 ppg) and rebounder (8.7 rpg). His rebounding average is the highest by an Atlantic 10 freshmen since Xavier's David West averaged 9.1 rpg in 1999-00. On Feb. 9, Dunston scored a game-high 21 points and added 19 rebounds to lead Fordham to an 84-62 Atlantic 10 win over St. Bonaventure. The 19 rebounds were the most by an Atlantic 10 player this year and the third-best single game total by a freshman in Atlantic 10 history.
Joining Dunston on the All-Rookie team are teammate Marcus Stout, Stanley Burrell of Xavier, Dayton's Brian Roberts, and Mark Tyndale of Temple.
Jones, who was named the Atlantic 10's Defensive Player of the Year, enters the A-10 Championship as the Conference's leading rebounder at 11.5 ppg. Also selected to the All-Conference second-team, the 6-11 native of Chester, PA, leads the league in blocks with 83. He had 21 games of 10 rebounds or more and 14 double-doubles - both tops in the Atlantic 10.
The All-Defensive team is comprised of Jones, teammate Dwayne Lee, Cage, Collins, and Carl Elliott of George Washington.
Achara was named the Atlantic 10's Chris Daniels Award winner, presented to the Conference's most improved player. A year ago, the 6-9 native of Stirling, Scotland, averaged 6.0 points and 3.7 rebounds while seeing time in 29 games. This season, Achara is averaging 11.5 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds a game. He also has 46 blocked shots.
Pinnock garnered Sixth Man honors. Pinnock has come off the bench in 15 of the 25 games he has played in this season, ranking second on the team with a 13.5 ppg average. In addition, his 37 steals are tops among the Colonials while his 15 blocked shots are third-best, despite the fact that the sophomore from McDonough, GA, stands 6-5.
Thornton has managed to combine academics and athletics very successfully since transferring to Xavier from Vanderbilt. The 6-8 junior from Louisville, KY, has provided Xavier with an inside presence, evidenced by his 11.0 ppg average and team-high 5.9 rpg average. His .601 field goal percentage (98-163) also leads the Musketeers. In the classroom, Thornton sports a 3.61 grade point average as a liberal arts major. Last semester, Thornton had a 4.0 gpa.
Thornton is joined on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference team by Achara, Jamaal Scott of Richmond, Chet Stachitas of Saint Joseph's, and Fordham's Mushon Ya'akosi.
Martelli earns his fourth Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award, having been previously honored in 1996-97, 2000-01, and 2003-04. In what was expected by many to be a rebuilding year, Martelli guided the Hawks to their fifth straight A-10 East division title in going 14-2 in league play and 17-10 overall. The Hawks are just the second team in A-10 history to earn five straight division titles, joining UMass which won crowns from 1992-96. In addition, the Hawks' 30-2 A-10 record over the past two seasons is the best two-year mark since Temple went 35-1 during the 1987 and 1988 seasons. In 10 years on Hawk Hill, Martelli's teams have combined for a 196-109 (.643) record, including a 105-55 (.656) mark in A-10 play.
3/8/05