Wright-Foreman Tops All-CAA Men's Basektball Team
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (March 2, 2018) – Hofstra junior guard
Justin Wright-Foreman was chosen 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 Northeastern’s
Bill Coen as the CAA Coach of the Year, Delaware freshman guard
Ryan Allen as the CAA Rookie of the Year, Northeastern sophomore guard
Shawn Occeus as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and Northeastern sophomore guard
Bolden Brace as the CAA Sixth Man of the Year. Elon junior forward
Tyler Seibring was chosen as the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award and William & Mary junior forward
Paul Rowley was selected as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Wright-Foreman led the CAA and ranked fifth in the nation in scoring this season with 24.2 points per game. He tallied double figures in 52 consecutive games, which is the fourth-longest streak in the nation, reached the 20-point mark 23 times and hit the 30-point plateau in seven contests. Wright-Foreman’s scoring average is the best by a Hofstra player since 1976-77 and the highest by any CAA player since 2006-07. His 726 total points are the ninth-most in CAA single-season history. The Pride guard also leads the conference with 89 three-pointers and ranks ninth in the league in assists (3.1 apg). Wright-Foreman is the fourth Hofstra player to receive the CAA’s top award.
Coen earned Coach of the Year honors for the first time after guiding Northeastern to a share of its third CAA regular-season title in six years. Picked to finish sixth in the conference’s preseason poll, the Huskies closed the season on a seven-game winning streak to tie their record for CAA victories with a 14-4 mark. Northeastern, which has only one senior on its roster, compiled a 21-9 overall mark and posted its most regular-season wins since 1986-87.
Allen received Rookie of the Year accolades after an outstanding freshman campaign. The Blue Hens’ guard led all CAA freshmen in scoring and ranked 13
th in the conference with 15.7 points per game. He was UD’s top scorer 12 times and closed the season on a 15-game double-digit scoring streak. Allen made at least one 3-pointer in all 28 games and ranked second in the CAA with 3.0 treys per game. His 83 threes are the second-most by a freshman in CAA history. It’s the second straight season, and third time overall, that a UD player has been named Rookie of the Year.
Occeus earned the Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the CAA with 61 steals, which was 13 more than any other player in the conference. The sophomore guard made at least three thefts 12 times and had a career-high six steals in two conference games. The 61 steals are the most by a Northeastern player since 2000-01. Occeus is the Huskies’ third CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
Brace is the first recipient of the Sixth Man of the Year award, which is given to a standout player who started fewer than 50% of his team’s conference games. The sophomore guard was Northeastern’s leading rebounder with 4.9 rpg, ranked fourth in scoring with 8.0 ppg and dished out 64 assists. An excellent shooter, Brace knocked down 51 three-pointers and shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc. He also hit 81.3% from the free throw line.
Seibring became Elon’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.” Seibring has a 3.95 grade point average while double majoring in English and economics. He was elected into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society earlier this year and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2017. On the court, Seibring made the All-CAA second team for the second consecutive year after leading the Phoenix and ranking among top 15 in the league in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg).
Rowley was selected as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He graduated magna cum laude with a double major in computer science and finance in 2017 and is currently enrolled in Law School at William & Mary. He became the first Tribe men’s basketball player since 1912 to be named Phi Beta Kappa last year and was recently named to the Academic All-District team. On the court, the Tribe forward scored 5.8 ppg and drained 42 three-pointers.
Joining Wright-Foreman on the All-CAA first team were UNCW junior forward
Devontae Cacok, College of Charleston senior guard
Joe Chealey, Northeastern junior guard
Vasa Pusica and College of Charleston sophomore guard
Grant Riller.
Cacok moved up to the All-CAA first team after receiving third team honors a year ago. The junior forward leads the nation in rebounding with 13.8 per game, an average that would be the best season mark in CAA history. His 413 rebounds set a UNCW season record and is the third-highest total ever in the CAA. Cacok was also eighth in the conference in scoring with 17.8 ppg and third in field goal percentage (58.8%). His 22 double-doubles are the most in the CAA and the second-most of any player in the nation.
Chealey earned All-CAA first team recognition for the second year in a row. The senior point guard ranked seventh in the conference in scoring with 17.0 ppg and was fifth in assists with 3.7 apg. He scored double figures in 27 of 30 games and topped the 20-point 11 times. Chealey has climbed to fifth on Charleston’s all-time scoring list with 1,755 points and is 11
th on the Cougars’s career assists chart.
Pusica made a major impact in his first season at Northeastern. The junior point guard ranked ninth in the CAA in scoring (17.6 ppg) and third in assists (5.0 apg). He was also among the league’s top 10 in field goal (50.5%), 3-point (41.8%) and free throw (81.1%) percentage. Pusica scored 20 or more points 13 times and finished the regular season by tallying double figures in 16 consecutive games.
Riller rose to the All-CAA first team as a sophomore after making the All-Rookie team in 2017. The Cougars’ guard ranked fifth in the league in scoring with 18.4 ppg and was ninth in steals (1.2 spg). He tallied double figures in 25 of 29 games, topped the 20-point mark 12 times and had four 30-point efforts. Riller shot 55.4% from the floor and better than 40 percent from 3-point range.
Earning second-team All-CAA honors were College of Charleston sophomore forward
Jarrell Brantley (17.3 ppg/6.6 rpg), Drexel junior guard
Tramaine Isabell (21.1 ppg/7.3 rpg), William and Mary sophomore forward
Nathan Knight (18.1 ppg/7.1 rpg), Towson sophomore guard Zane Martin (19.9 ppg/3.6 rpg), and Elon’s Seibring (15.5 ppg/6.7 rpg).
Named to the All-CAA third team were William & Mary senior guard
David Cohn (14.0 ppg/6.7 apg), Delaware sophomore guard
Ryan Daly (17.0 ppg/6.2 rpg), Hofstra senior forward/center
Rokas Gustys (10.5 ppg/12.1 rpg), James Madison junior guard
Stuckey Mosley (18.6 ppg/4.5 rpg), William & Mary sophomore guard/forward
Justin Pierce (15.3 ppg/8.8 rpg) and UNCW senior guard
Jordon Talley (16.6 ppg/5.8 apg).
The awards were announced on the eve of the 2018 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, which will be held March 3-6 at North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, S.C.
2017-18 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
First Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Devontae Cacok, UNCW Jr. F 6-7 240 Riverdale, Ga./Alpharetta
Joe Chealey, Col. of Charleston Sr. G 6-4 190 Orlando, Fla./Apopka
Vasa Pusica, Northeastern Jr. G 6-5 210 Belgrade, Serbia/Sunrise Christian
Grant Riller, Col. of Charleston So. G 6-3 195 Ocoee, Fla./Ocoee
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra Jr. G 6-1 185 Queens, N.Y./High School of Construction
Second Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Jarrell Brantley, Col. of Charleston Jr. F 6-7 250 Columbia, S.C./Notre Dame Prep
Tramaine Isabell, Drexel Jr. G 6-1 180 Seattle, Wash./Garfield
Nathan Knight, William & Mary So. F 6-10 235 Syracuse, N.Y./Kimball Academy
Zane Martin, Towson So. G 6-4 205 Philadelphia, Pa./Ss. Neumann-Goretti
Tyler Seibring, Elon Jr. F 6-9 225 Normal, Ill./Normal Community
Third Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
David Cohn, William & Mary Sr. G 6-2 168 Elmhurst, Ill./York
Ryan Daly, Delaware So. G 6-5 225 Ardmore, Pa./Archbishop Carroll
Rokas Gustys, Hofstra Sr. F/C 6-9 260 Kaunas, Lithuania/Oak Hill Academy
Stuckey Mosley, James Madison Jr. G 6-3 190 Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek
Justin Pierce, William & Mary So. G/F 6-7 215 Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West
Jordon Talley, UNCW Sr. G 6-1 180 Richmond, Va./Henrico
2017-18 CAA Player of the Year - Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
2017-18 CAA Coach of the Year – Bill Coen, Northeastern
2017-18 CAA Rookie of the Year – Ryan Allen, Delaware
2017-18 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Shawn Occeus, Northeastern
2017-18 CAA Sixth Man of the Year – Bolden Brace, Northeastern
2017-18 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Tyler Seibring, Elon
2017-18 CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Paul Rowley, William & Mary
CAA All-Rookie Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Ryan Allen, Delaware Fr. G 6-2 195 Bowie, Md./DeMatha
Darius Banks, James Madison Fr. G 6-5 225 St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg
Matt Lewis, James Madison Fr. G 6-5 180 Arlington, Va./Bishop O’Connell
Tomas Murphy, Northeastern Fr. F 6-8 220 Wakefield, R.I./Northfield Mount Hermon
Jalen Ray, Hofstra Fr. G 6-2 175 Hampton, Va./Hampton
CAA All-Defensive Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Devontae Cacok, UNCW Jr. F 6-7 240 Riverdale, Ga./Alpharetta
Cameron Johnson, Charleston Sr. G 6-4 200 Athens, Ga./Clarke Central
Nathan Knight, William & Mary So. F 6-10 235 Syracuse, N.Y./Kimball Academy
Shawn Occeus, Northeastern So. G 6-4 208 Boynton Beach, Fla./Grandview Prep
Austin Williams, Drexel Sr. F 6-8 245 Richmond, Va./Trinity Episcopal