Williams Headlines All-CAA Men's Basketball Team
Northeastern's T.J. Williams

Williams Headlines All-CAA Men's Basketball Team

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Rob Washburn


RICHMOND, Va.  (March 2, 2017) – Northeastern senior guard T.J. Williams was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches, media relations directors and members of the media.
 
Also receiving top honors were College of Charleston’s Earl Grant as the CAA Coach of the Year, Delaware freshman guard Ryan Daly as the CAA Rookie of the Year and UNCW sophomore forward Devontae Cacok as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year. College of Charleston junior forward Evan Bailey was chosen as the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.


 
Williams led the CAA and ranked 13th in the nation in scoring this season with 21.6 points per game. He tallied double figures in all 29 contests and topped the 20-point mark a league-best 18 times. The Huskies’ point guard was also second in the conference and 38th in Division I with 5.3 assists per game and he ranked second on the team in rebounding (4.8 rpg) and steals (31). On February 23, Williams became the first NU player in 11 years to record a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a double-overtime victory at Elon. The four-year starter eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career earlier this season and is currently 15th on NU’s all-time points list (1,362). Williams is just the second Northeastern player to receive the CAA’s top award, joining current NBA standout Jose Juan Barea (2005-06).

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Grant earned CAA Coach of the Year honors for the first time after guiding College of Charleston to its most regular-season victories since 2009 with a 23-8 mark. The Cougars posted a best-ever second-place finish in the CAA with a 14-4 record, which included at least one win over all nine league foes. With no seniors in the starting lineup, CofC was among the top teams in the nation with 10 true road victories. The Cougars were especially strong defensively, where they topped the conference in scoring defense (63.9 ppg), field goal percentage defense (41.7%) and 3-point FG percentage defense (30.3%).

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Daly received Rookie of the Year accolades after a remarkable freshman year. The Blue Hens’ guard led all CAA freshmen in both scoring and rebounding, ranking eighth in the conference with 15.3 points per game and fifth in rebounding with 7.2 caroms per contest. He was UD’s top scorer and rebounder in 18 of 31 games and recorded four double-doubles. Daly shattered Delaware’s all-time marks for points (460) and rebounds (217) by a freshman. He is only the second Blue Hens’ player to be chosen as CAA Rookie of the Year and first since Devon Saddler in 2010-11. 

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Cacok earned the CAA Defensive Player of the Year award in his first year as a starter. The Seahawks’ sophomore forward ranked second in the conference and 21st in the nation with 9.8 rebounds per game. He grabbed 10 or more caroms in 14 games and tied for the league lead with 11 double-doubles. In addition, Cacok ranked second in the CAA with 40 blocked shots. He contributed offensively with 12.2 points per game while leading the nation in field goal percentage (78.7%). Cacok is UNCW’s second CAA Defensive Player of the Year, joining John Goldsberry in 2004-05.

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Bailey became College of Charleston’s first recipient of the Ehlers Award, which is presented annually to the men’s basketball student-athlete who “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.” Bailey is a member of the Honors College and has a 3.7 grade point average while majoring in chemistry. Earlier this year, he was one of three CAA players to be selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team. The junior forward has been involved with a number of volunteer projects, including working with Charleston Hope, a charity that helps inner city youth.
 
Joining Williams on the All-CAA first team were UNCW sophomore guard C.J. Bryce, College of Charleston junior guard Joe Chealey, William and Mary senior guard Daniel Dixon and UNCW senior guard Chris Flemmings.

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Bryce received first-team honors in 2017 after earning a spot on the CAA All-Rookie team a year ago. The sophomore guard ranked fourth in the league in scoring (15.2 ppg), 14th in rebounding (5.6 rpg) and 10th in assists (3.0 apg). He scored double figures in 29 of 31 contests and topped the 20-point mark 10 times. Bryce shot 48.8% from the floor and was fourth on the team with 37 three-pointers.
 
Chealey earned a spot on the All-CAA first team after missing all of last season with a knee injury. The junior guard ranked fifth in the conference in scoring with 17.2 points per game and eighth in assists with 3.3 per game. He tallied double figures in 26 games, including the final 13 in a row. Chealey knocked down a team-high 59 three-pointers and shot 41.8% from beyond the arc, which ranked second in the CAA.
 
Dixon garnered all-conference honors for the first time after a breakout senior season. He ranked second in the league in scoring with 19.5 points per game, which included tallying double figures in his final 22 contests. The senior guard had a league-high five games with 30 or more points and topped the 20-point mark 14 times. Dixon was second in the CAA with 71 treys and ranked among the league’s top eight in field goal (49%), free throw (86.7%) and 3-point (39.4%) percentage.
 
Flemmings was the only repeat selection to the All-CAA first team. The versatile senior guard ranked seventh in the league in scoring (15.7 ppg), 13th in rebounding (5.6 rpg) and fifth in steals (1.5 spg). He scored double figures in 25 of his 31 contests, topped the 20-point mark five times and recorded four double-doubles. Flemmings shot 47% from the floor and was sixth in the conference with 63 three-pointers.
 
Earning second-team All-CAA honors were College of Charleston sophomore forward Jarrell Brantley (14.1 ppg/8.2 rpg), UNCW senior guard Denzel Ingram (14.2 ppg/5.4 apg), William and Mary senior guard/forward Omar Prewitt (15.2 ppg/6.1 rpg), Elon sophomore forward Tyler Seibring (14.4 ppg/6.9 rpg) and Hofstra sophomore guard Justin Wright-Foreman (18.0 ppg/3.5 rpg).

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Named to the All-CAA third team were UNCW’s Cacok (12.2 ppg/9.8 rpg), Delaware’s Daly (15.3 ppg/7.2 rpg), Towson senior forward John Davis (11.8 ppg/7.6 rpg), Towson junior guard Mike Morsell (13.8 ppg/3.2 rpg) and Drexel senior forward Rodney Williams (15.9 ppg/6.8 rpg).

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The awards were announced on the eve of the 2017 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, which will be held March 3-6 at North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, S.C.
 
2016-17 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
 
First Team All-CAA                   Cl.                   Pos.                   Ht.                   Wt. Hometown/High School
C.J. Bryce, UNCW                   So.                   G                   6-5                   195 Charlotte, N.C./North Mecklenburg
Joe Chealey, Col. of Charleston                   Jr.                   G                   6-4                   195 Orlando, Fla./Apopka
Daniel Dixon, William & Mary                   Sr.                   G                   6-6                   210 Great Falls, Va./Langley
Chris Flemmings, UNCW                   Sr.                   G                   6-5                   180 Cary, N.C./Green Hope
T.J. Williams, Northeastern                   Sr.                   G                   6-3                   205 Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville
Second Team All-CAA                   Cl.                   Pos.                   Ht.                   Wt. Hometown/High School
Jarrell Brantley, Col. of Charleston                   So.                   F                   6-7                   250 Columbia, S.C./Notre Dame Prep
Denzel Ingram, UNCW                   Sr.                   G                   6-0                   175 Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill
Omar Prewitt, William & Mary                   Sr.                   G/F                   6-7                   195 Mount Sterling, Ky./Montgomery County
Tyler Seibring, Elon                   So.                   F                   6-8                   225 Normal, Ill./Normal Community
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra                   So.                   G                   6-4                   184 Queens, N.Y./High School of Construction
Third Team All-CAA                   Cl.                   Pos.                   Ht.                   Wt. Hometown/High School
Devontae Cacok, UNCW                   So.                   F                   6-7                   240 Riverdale, Ga./Alpharetta
Ryan Daly, Delaware                   Fr.                   G                   6-4                   185 Ardmore, Pa./Archbishop Carroll
John Davis, Towson                   Sr.                   F                   6-5                   235 Philadelphia, Pa./Ss. Neumann-Goretti
Mike Morsell, Towson                   Jr.                   G                   6-5                   215 Fort Washington, Md./Saint John’s College
Rodney Williams, Drexel                   Sr.                   F                   6-7                   225 Richmond, Va./St. Christopher’s

2016-17 CAA Player of the Year - T.J. Williams, Northeastern
2016-17 CAA Coach of the Year – Earl Grant, College of Charleston
2016-17 CAA Rookie of the Year – Ryan Daly, Delaware
2016-17 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Devontae Cacok, UNCW
2016-17 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Evan Bailey, College of Charleston
 
CAA All-Rookie Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Ryan Daly, Delaware                   Fr.                   G                   6-4                   185 Ardmore, Pa./Archbishop Carroll
Nathan Knight, William & Mary                   Fr.                   F                   6-10                   247 Syracuse, N.Y./Kimball Union Academy
Kurk Lee, Drexel                   Fr.                   G                   5-10                   150 Baltimore, Md./St. Frances Academy
Eli Pemberton, Hofstra                   Fr.                   G                   6-4                   190 Middletown, Conn./Cheshire Academy
Grant Riller, Col. of Charleston                   Fr.                   G                   6-3                   185 Ocoee, Fla./Ocoee
CAA All-Defensive Team                   Cl.                   Pos.                   Ht.                   Wt. Hometown/High School
Devon Begley, Northeastern                   Jr.                   G                   6-4                   198 Pearland, Texas/Pearland
Jarrell Brantley, Col. of Charleston                   So.                   F                   6-7                   250 Columbia, S.C./Notre Dame Prep
Devontae Cacok, UNCW                   So.                   F                   6-7                   240 Riverdale, Ga./Alpharetta
Cameron Johnson, Charleston                   Jr.                   G                   6-4                   200 Athens, Ga./Clarke Central
Deshaun Morman, Towson                   Jr.                   G                   6-3                   195 Richmond, Va./Faith Baptist Christian
CAA All-Academic Team                   Cl.                   Pos.                   Ht.                   Wt. Hometown/High School
William Adala Moto, Towson                   Sr.                   F                   6-7                   245 Yaounde, Cameroon/Episcopal
Evan Bailey, Coll. of Charleston                   Jr.                   F                   6-6                   210 Canton, Ohio/Jackson
Dimitrije Cabarkapa, James Madison                   Sr.                   F                   6-10                   240 Novi Sad, Serbia/High Medical School
Rokas Gustys, Hofstra                   Jr.                   F                   6-9                   260 Kaunas, Lithuania/Oak Hill Academy
Curtis Lochner, Delaware                   So.                   G                   5-10                   175 Willow Grove, Pa./Abington
John Moran, Drexel                   Gr.                   G                   6-3                   185 Phoenixville, Pa./The Hill School
Ambrose Mosley, UNCW                   Gr.                   G                   6-2                   185 Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast
Paul Rowley, William & Mary                   So.                   F                   6-8                   200 Purcellville, Va./Loudoun Valley
Patrick Ryan, Elon                   Sr.                   G                   6-6                   210 Darien, Conn./Green Farms Academy
Hunter Sabety, Hofstra                   Jr.                   F                   6-9                   260 Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside
Steven Santa Ana, Elon                   So.                   G                   6-4                   190 Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell
Paulius Satkus, James Madison                   Sr.                   F                   6-8                   230 Raudondvaris, Lithuania
Tyler Seibring, Elon                   So.                   F                   6-8                   225 Towanda, Ill./Normal Community
Dainan Swoope, Elon                   So.                   G                   6-0                   190 Kansas City, Kan./Sunrise Christian Acad.    
Rodney Williams, Drexel                   Sr.                   F                   6-7                   225 Richmond, Va./St. Christopher’s