NORFOLK, Va. – For the second consecutive year, Old Dominion men’s basketball guard Trey Freeman has headlined the All-Conference USA First Team. Ten schools are represented on the 2016 All-Conference USA men's basketball first, second and third teams, as announced today. Voting on the awards was done by the C-USA head coaches and media members in each conference city.
Just last week, Freeman was named to the All-Conference USA Academic Team for the second straight season.
The senior captain from Virginia Beach, Va. ranks No. 1 in the country for made field goals with 258 and ranks No 9 in Division I and No. 1 in the C-USA for total points (669). Trey currently ranks 13th in the nation for points per game with 21.6, which led Conference USA. That output improved to 25.3 points per game against conference competition, including four games with 30 or more points against C-USA foes.
Freeman was a three-time C-USA Player of the Week selection and earned the honor three consecutive weeks to become the first player in league history to accomplish that feat. He has scored 21 or more points in 14 of the last 17 games, 24 or more points in 11 of the last 15 contests and has been the game’s leading scorer in 14 of the past 16 games. Freeman has reached double figures in all but one game this season. Freeman scored his 2,000th career point at Western Kentucky on Feb. 18.
He is a Dean’s List recipient, C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree and was named to the Conference USA All Academic Team a year ago, while garnering C-USA Newcomer of the Year.
Players from five different schools are represented on the 2015-16 All-Conference USA men's basketball first-team, featuring three seniors and two underclassmen.
Louisiana Tech senior guard Alex Hamilton earns first-team honors after receiving a nod on the second team a year ago. On Feb. 27, he registered only the third triple-double in school history with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over Rice. The Chipley, Florida, native then closed out the regular season with a career-high 38-point effort at Marshall, and followed that up with 33 points in the season finale at WKU. He is the conference's top playmaker, averaging 6.2 assists per game, and ranks second in steals (2.1 spg), fourth in scoring (20 ppg) and 19th in rebounding (5.7 rpg) as a guard. Hamilton also owns the most wins as a Bulldog with 106 during his career.
Marshall senior transfer James Kelly made an immediate impact in his first season on the floor for the Herd. He ranks third in the league for both scoring (20.6 ppg), including 15 games with 20 or more points, and rebounding (9.9 rpg). Kelly also ranks among the top 30 nationally in those categories and is one of only two NCAA Division I players who can claim that accomplishment. A transfer from Miami (Fla.) who hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Kelly has been a key to the Herd's 12-6 record in conference play this season to secure a bye in the C-USA Championship with a No. 3 seed. Last season, Marshall participated as the No. 12 seed.
Rice's Marcus Evans becomes just the ninth freshman in C-USA history to earn first-team honors and the first since 2012. A nine-time C-USA Freshman of the Week selection, Evans ranks second in the league for scoring (21.2 ppg) and his 658 points ranks third among freshman all-time in the 21-year history of the conference. A native of Chesapeake, Virginia, he also leads the league in steals with 2.1 per game in 31 starts.
UAB guard Robert Brown rounds out the first team as the senior leader for the regular-season champion Blazers, who set the school record for most wins in a season with 26 (26-5). Brown is the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.2 points per game, and he hit the game-winner in UAB's 74-72 win over Charlotte on Jan. 16. The Clermont, Florida, native was MVP of the 2015 C-USA Men's Basketball Championship, won by UAB.
Top four seeds UAB and LA Tech were also represented on the all-conference second team in Blazers' sophomore Chris Cokley and Bulldogs' junior Erik McCree. They are joined by Charlotte senior Joseph Uchebo, FIU senior Adrian Diaz and North Texas sophomore Jeremy Combs as all-conference second-team selections.
The All-Conference Third Team is comprised of all underclassmen, featuring two more Blazer sophomores in William Lee and Nick Norton. Middle Tennessee also produced two third-team selections in junior Reggie Upshaw Jr. and sophomore Giddy Potts, while UTEP junior Lee Moore rounds out the squad.
The Conference USA All-Freshman and All-Defensive Teams, as well as superlative awards for Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year will be announced Tuesday. The C-USA Player of the Year and the C-USA Gene Bartow Coach of the Year will be unveiled on Wednesday.
The 2016 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship will be held March 8-12 at the Legacy Arena at BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and by calling (205) 975-8221.
On Wednesday at 3:30 EST on ASN, the Monarchs will take on the winner of Tuesday’s No. 12 seeded FAU vs. No. 13 seeded UTSA game.
2015-16 ALL-CONFERENCE USA FIRST TEAM
Alex Hamilton, Louisiana Tech, Sr., G, 6-4, 194, Chipley, Florida
James Kelly, Marshall, Sr., F, 6-8, 259, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Trey Freeman, Old Dominion, Sr., G, 6-2, 175, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Marcus Evans, Rice, Fr., G, 6-2, 190, Chesapeake, Virginia
Robert Brown, UAB, Sr., G, 6-5, 195, Clermont, Florida
2015-16 ALL-CONFERENCE USA SECOND TEAM
Joseph Uchebo, Charlotte, Sr., C, 6-10, 261, Enugu, Nigeria
Adrian Diaz, FIU, Sr., C, 6-11, 230, Miami, Florida
Erik McCree, Louisiana Tech, R-Jr., F, 6-8. 222, Orlando, Florida
Jeremy Combs, North Texas, So., F, 6-7, 196, Dallas, Texas
Chris Cokley, UAB, So., F, 6-8, 241, Savannah, Georgia
2015-16 ALL-CONFERENCE USA THIRD TEAM
Giddy Potts, Middle Tennessee, So., G, 6-2, 220, Athens, Alabama
Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee, Jr., G, 6-7, 232, Chattanooga, Tennessee
William Lee, UAB, So., F, 6-9, 210, Plantersville, Alabama
Nick Norton, UAB, So., G, 6-10, 175, Bloomington, Illinois
Lee Moore, UTEP, Jr., G, 6-4, 175, Kennesaw, Georgia