Leao and Grant Headline PSAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Honors
2012-13 PSAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
Lock Haven- Pa. – East Stroudsburg’s
Whis Grant and
Luis Leao of Mercyhurst have been selected as the PSAC Men’s Basketball Athletes of the Year, while
Luiz Santos of Slippery Rock and
Elijah Obade of Millersville earned PSAC Men’s Basketball Defensive Athletes of the Year.
Cheyney’s
Brandon Norfleet and
Jake Jacubec of California were named the PSAC’s Freshmen of the Year for their respective divisions. Norfleet ranks in the league’s top 20 in scoring with an average of 13.6 points per game. Jacubec has been a reliable force for the Vulcans throughout his rookie campaign, leading his team in free throw shooting with a .897 percentage.
Jeff Wilson, ESU’s head coach, claimed the PSAC East Coach of the Year, while
John T. Reilly of Gannon was tabbed as the PSAC West Coach of the Year. The award marks the second coach of the year honor for Wilson, as he also earned the league’s award in 2010. A year ago, Wilson guided the Warriors to a 2012 PSAC title and the program’s second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons.
The honor is Reilly’s first in his eight seasons at the helm of the Golden Knight program. Prior to the 2012-13 season, Reilly ranked 37
th among all NCAA D-II coaches in victories with 351 and 58
th in winning percentage (.610).
Grant, ESU’s top scorer with 17.4 points per game and first team All-Conference honoree, averaged 19.1 points during a school record-tying 14-game winning streak from December 19 to February 13. He leads the PSAC in three-point percentage (40.8), ranks fourth in three-pointers per game (2.5), eighth in steals (1.8) and seventh in scoring.
Leao, a 6-5 senior and a first team West selection, is currently third in scoring in the conference with an average of 18.6 points per outing. He has reached the 20+-point mark in 13 games this season, including a six game stretch (12/5-1/4) where he netted at least 20 points each game. Leao has been most effective for the Laker’s on the defensive half in terms of rebounding, with 151 defensive pull-downs.
Marauder Elijah Obade earned Defensive Athlete of the Year in the East Division mostly for his
blocked shots statistics. Obade has swatted away 72 shots this season, a league-leading 2.5 per game. He also leads the conference in defensive rebounds with 209, the only athlete in the PSAC to exceed 200 boards off the defensive glass. Obade is averaging 11.2 rebounds per game completing the double-double average with 11.7 points per game.
In the Western Division, Luiz Santos of Slippery Rock has chalked-up a team-high 41 blocks thus far this season, an average of 1.5 per game, to earn the West’s Defensive Athlete of the Year. He also averages nearly four defensive boards per game for a total of 104 on the season. One of Santos’ best games this season was five blocks and 12 boards versus Clarion.
This season’s All-Conference squads feature seven repeat first team selections.
Jon Breeden (WCU),
Duane Johnson (ESU),
Devin Taylor (SRU),
Darrell Blanton (GAN), and
Isaiah Prince (BORO) are repeats from a year ago, while Leao (MER) earned first team honors in the 2010-11 season and
Gerald Brooks (SRU) was named first team in 2009.
EASTERN DIVISION FIRST TEAM
|
Pos. |
Player |
University |
Cl. |
Hometown / Previous School |
|
F |
Joe Bell^ |
Mansfield |
So. |
Pottstown / Pottsgrove |
|
G |
Jon Breeden* |
West Chester |
Sr. |
Harrisburg / Central Dauphin East |
|
G |
Micah Fraction^ |
Kutztown |
Sr. |
Macungie / Emmaus |
|
G |
Whis Grant |
East Stroudsburg |
So. |
Plymouth Meeting / Plymouth Whitemarsh |
|
F |
Terrance King^ |
East Stroudsburg |
Sr. |
Bushkill / East Stroudsburg North |
|
C |
Elijah Obade |
Millersville |
Sr. |
Charleroi / Charleroi |
EASTERN DIVISION SECOND TEAM
|
Pos. |
Player |
University |
Cl. |
Hometown / Previous School |
|
G |
Corey Blake |
West Chester |
So. |
West Chester / Rustin |
|
G |
Reggie Charles |
Shippensburg |
So. |
Philadelphia / Father Judge |
|
F/C |
Dylan Edgar |
Shippensburg |
Jr. |
Shiremanstown / Mechanicsburg |
|
G |
Larry Grant |
Millersville |
Sr. |
Greenburgh, N.Y. / Woodlands |
|
F |
Duane Johnson*^ |
East Stroudsburg |
Sr. |
East Lansdowne / Penn Wood |
|
G |
Jason Sabb^ |
Cheyney |
Sr. |
Philadelphia / South Philadelphia |
WESTERN DIVISION FIRST TEAM
|
Pos. |
Player |
University |
Cl. |
Hometown / Previous School |
|
F |
Darrell Blanton* |
Gannon |
Sr. |
Cleveland, Ohio / Euclid |
|
G |
Mathis Keita |
IUP |
Jr. |
Thrionville, France / Insep |
|
F |
Luis Leao* |
Mercyhurst |
Sr. |
Brusque, Brazil / Winchendon School |
|
G |
Isaiah Prince* |
Edinboro |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh / Imani Christian Academy |
|
F |
Devin Taylor* |
Slippery Rock |
Sr. |
New Castle / New Castle |
|
C |
Bryan Theriot |
Edinboro |
Jr. |
Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Midpark |
WESTERN DIVISION SECOND TEAM
|
Pos. |
Player |
University |
Cl. |
Hometown / Previous School |
|
F |
Gerald Brooks*^^ |
Slippery Rock |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh / Schenley |
|
G |
Jay Fletcher |
Edinboro |
Sr. |
Morgantown, W.Va. / Morgantown |
|
G |
Wali Hepburn |
Lock Haven |
So. |
Philadelphia / Neumann-Goretti |
|
G |
Keith Lowe |
California (Pa.) |
Sr. |
Columbus, Ohio / Centennial |
|
G |
Scooter Renkin |
IUP |
Sr. |
Midlothian, Va. / Blue Ridge |
|
G |
Anthony Wells |
IUP |
Sr. |
Cleveland, Ohio / Shaker Heights |
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection
|
WESTERN DIVISION |
EASTERN DIVISION |
|
Athlete of the Year – Luis Leao, Mercyhurst |
Athlete of the Year – Whis Grant, East Stroudsburg |
|
Freshman of the Year – Jake Jacubec, California (Pa.) |
Freshman of the Year – Brandon Norfleet, Cheyney |
|
Defensive Athlete of the Year – Luiz Santos, Slippery Rock |
Defensive Athlete of the Year – Elijah Obade, Millersville |
|
Coach of the Year – John Reilly, Gannon |
Coach of the Year – Jeff Wilson, East Stroudsburg |