BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Dayton sophomore forward Obi Toppin was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year while Toppin’s coach Anthony Grant was voted A-10 Coach of the Year. The league announced its awards Tuesday in advance of the 2020 Men’s Basketball Championship, which begins Wednesday at Barclays Center.
 
Richmond junior guard Jacob Gilyard was named Defensive Player of the Year while Massachusetts freshman center Tre Mitchell was selected as Rookie of the Year. George Mason junior forward AJ Wilson was voted as the Chris Daniels Most Improved Player. Saint Louis junior guard/forward Javonte Perkins was selected as the Sixth Man of the Year.
 
The major awards, the three six-member All-Conference teams, All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams were all nominated and voted on by the conference’s 14 head coaches. The basketball communications directors select the five-member All-Academic team. The three All-Conference teams were increased this year to include six players on each team, reflecting the talent depth of a 14-team league.
 
Toppin, who is a finalist or semifinalist for several national player of the year honors, led Dayton to a perfect A-10 record and the Atlantic 10 regular season title. He averaged 20 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while shooting 63.3 percent from the field, which ranks fifth nationally. Toppin, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, returns home to lead the top-seeded Flyers into the A-10 Championship.
 
Grant, in his third season at Dayton, guided the Flyers to a 29-2 overall record and a 18-0 A-10 mark. UD is ranked third in the AP and Coaches’ Poll. A Dayton alum, Grant has kept the Flyers undefeated in regulation, with both of UD’s losses coming in overtime on neutral courts.
 
Mitchell won A-10 Rookie of the Week a total of six time, including the final five weeks of the season. He averaged 17.7 points, and led the league in scoring in conference games, averaging 20.4 points per game.
 
Gilyard led the nation in steals (99) and steals per game (3.19). He was ninth in assist to turnover ratio (2.97) and also scored 12.7 points per game for the Spiders.
 
Wilson improved his scoring to 11.8 points per game, up from 3.7 points per game a year ago. Increasing in almost every category, he made a significant jump in blocks, recording 38 last year and 90 this year, ranking sixth in the nation in total blocks and seventh in blocks per game (2.9).
 
Perkins, who started just one game this season, came off the bench to average 15 points and 3.5 rebounds, shooting 44.3 percent from the field. Perkins averaged 5.0 points per game in the first five games of the season before becoming an explosive bench option for the Billikens, including five games with 25 points or more.

Joining Toppin and Gilyard on the All-Conference First Team were Jalen Crutcher (Dayton), Fatts Russell (Rhode Island), Kyle Lofton (St. Bonaventure) and Jordan Goodwin (Saint Louis). The All-Conference second team consisted of Kellan Grady (Davidson), Marcus Weathers (Duquesne), Blake Francis (Richmond), Grant Golden (Richmond), Hasahn French (Saint Louis) and Mitchell. Jon Axel Gudmundsson (Davidson), Trey Landers (Dayton), Jeff Dowtin (Rhode Island), Osun Osunniyi (St. Bonaventure), Ryan Daly (Saint Joseph’s) and Perkins made up the All-Conference Third Team.
Dowtin, Ryan Mikesell (Dayton), Jaren English (St. Bonaventure), Toliver Freeman (Saint Joseph’s) and Marcus Santos-Silva (VCU) were named to the All-Academic team.

Russell, Gilyard, Osunniyi, French and Goodwin were all voted to the All-Defensive team. Hyunjung Lee (Davidson), Jamison Battle (George Washington), Mitchell, Yuri Collins (Saint Louis) and Bones Hyland (VCU) were named to the All-Rookie team.

The 2020 Championship begins Wednesday with two first-round games that will be streamed on ESPN+. Thursday features four second-round games and the quarterfinals are Friday. Thursday’s and Friday’s games will be carried by NBCSN. Semifinals begin Saturday at 1:00 pm on CBS Sports Network and the Championship final is Sunday at 1:00 pm on CBS Sports. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.