PSAC West Athlete of the Year Ashton Smith of IUP (left) and PSAC East Athlete of the Year Dontahe Jordan of Bloomsburg (right).
2011-12 All-PSAC Men's Basketball Teams (pdf)
Lock Haven, Pa. – Dontahe Jordan of Bloomsburg and Ashton Smith of IUP have been named the PSAC Men’s Basketball Athletes of the Year while Bloomsburg’s Larry Webster and California’s Travon Vann have been selected the inaugural PSAC Defensive Athletes of the Year as that foursome highlights the 2011-12 All-PSAC Men’s Basketball teams.
Joe Bell of Mansfield has been named the PSAC East Freshman of the Year while Adam Blazek of Gannon has been tabbed the PSAC West Freshman of the Year. Both were among their teams’ leading scorers in their inaugural collegiate campaigns. Bloomsburg’s John Sanow is the PSAC East Coach of the Year for the first time in his career while IUP’s Joe Lombardi is the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the second time in the last three seasons.
Kutztown and East Stroudsburg both led the way with the most selections of any team in either division with three apiece. The Golden Bears, along with West Chester, each placed two players on the first team. Kutztown’s Eric Brennan and Nate Edwards were both named to the first team while Lance McDowell and John Breeden of West Chester joined the Kutztown duo. Brennan is on the East first team for the first time in his career but it is his second career first team All-PSAC honor as he was an All-West first team selection two years ago while playing at Lock Haven. Micah Fraction rounded out the Kutztown trio as he was named to the second team. East Stroudsburg placed junior Duane Johnson on the first team while senior Russell Graham III and junior Terrance King, a former PSAC East Freshman of the Year, were both named to the second team. Only four of the 12 honorees on the East team had previously garnered all-conference recognition with only Brennan and Jordan previously on a first team. Jordan is the only player on the first team for the second straight season. Both Edwards and Johnson were second team selections last season.
In the PSAC West, no team had more than two all-conference selections as five different teams placed a pair on the all-conference teams. IUP was the only school with two on the first team as the senior duo of Smith and Julian Sanders lead the way. Smith is the only repeat selection to the first team while Sanders was a second team selection a year ago. That duo has now helped IUP to three straight PSAC West titles. California’s Steve Swiech, a first team pick, is the only other player on the All-PSAC West teams with a previous all-conference honor on his resume as he was named a second team selection last year.
Jordan, last year’s PSAC East Freshman of the Year, adds Athlete of the Year to his resume after helping lead Bloomsburg to a share of the PSAC East title. Jordan led the Huskies in scoring this season with 16.2 points per game and is also among the league leaders in rebounds with 7.0 and field goal percentage at 48.4. He is also the second-best free throw shooter in the conference at 87.4 percent, having missed only 11 free throws in 87 total attempts this season. He is the first Bloomsburg player to be honored as the East Athlete of the Year since Jeff Benson in 1999.
Smith is the third straight IUP player to earn the PSAC West Athlete of the Year award, following former teammates Darryl Webb and Thomas Young from the past two seasons. Smith is currently third in the PSAC in scoring at 18.7 points per contest and is the top scorer in the PSAC West. He has helped the Crimson Hawks to their third straight PSAC West crown and this weekend, will lead them as they look for their third consecutive PSAC Tournament title. The all-time IUP leader in career assists, Smith, along with Sanders, have helped guide the Hawks to a total of 100 wins over the last four seasons.
Webster is the inaugural East Defensive Athlete of the Year after his efforts also contributed to Bloomsburg’s improvements this year. He ranks among the league leaders in blocked shots (1.5 per game – 3rd), rebounds (7.3 – 8th) and steals (1.3 – T14th). His contributions have helped the Huskies rank in the top five in the PSAC in both scoring and field goal percentage defense.
Vann , the inaugural West Defensive Athlete of the Year, did a little bit of everything for California this season to help lead the Vulcans to their second straight PSAC Tournament appearance. In addition to averaging 8.8 points, which was third on the team, Vann recorded a team-leading 29 steals, 12 blocked shots and dished out a team-leading 87 assists while only committing 51 turnovers. His 5.1 rebounds per game was also second on the team.
Bell is the East Freshman of the Year after enjoying a tremendous rookie season at Mansfield. His 16.3 points per game average currently ranks eighth in the PSAC and as a guard, he enjoyed the top field goal percentage in the conference at 57 percent. His presence helped the Mountaineers make up for the loss of several of their top scorers from last season as he scored in double figures in 23 of 26 games, including the last 17 in a row. His 424 points is the second-most in Mansfield history for a rookie and he also was among the league leaders in rebounds at 6.9 per game (12th). Bell is the second Mountie in the last four seasons to be named the East Freshman of the Year, joining Tony Fannick in 2009.
Blazek is the third straight Gannon player to be named the West Freshman of the Year, joining teammate Stephen Battle, who was last year’s honoree, and 2010 winner Tanner Furno. Blazek averaged 15.5 points per game to rank second on his team and 14th in the PSAC, and he also finished the year with 82 steals (3.2 per game), which was by far tops in the league. His steal total was just five shy of the school single-season record.
Sanow is the first Bloomsburg coach to be tabbed the East Coach of the Year since Charlie Chronister in 2001. In his fourth year, Sanow has slowly guided the Huskies to improved PSAC records in each of the last three seasons, culminating in a 19-9 record and a 15-7 PSAC mark this season along with a share of the PSAC East championship. The Huskies qualified for their first PSAC Tournament since 2002 and hosted a PSAC playoff game for the first time since 2001 last night. Bloomsburg’s 19 wins were eight more than last year and were the most for the program since the Huskies won 20 in 2001.
Lombardi garners his second West Coach of the Year honor in the last three seasons, as he was also given the honor in 2010, the year the Crimson Hawks advanced to the NCAA national championship game. He has guided the Crimson Hawks to their third straight divisional title and a recent run of dominance in the PSAC that hasn’t been seen in the conference since the early 1980s. IUP will be seeking its third straight PSAC Tournament title this weekend and if it accomplishes that, it will mark the first time since Cheyney won five straight from 1976-80 that a team has won three straight PSAC title.