Towson's Benimon Headlines All-CAA MBB Teams
BALTIMORE, Md. (March 6, 2014) – Towson senior forward Jerrelle Benimon was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in voting by the league’s head coaches, media relations directors and members of the media. The announcement was made Thursday night at the league’s pre-tournament awards banquet in Baltimore, Md.
Also receiving top honors were Delaware’s Monte’ Ross as the CAA Coach of the Year, William and Mary freshman guard/forward Omar Prewitt as the CAA Rookie of the Year and Northeastern junior forward Scott Eatherton as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year. William and Mary senior forward Tim Rusthoven was the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.
Benimon becomes the eighth player in conference history to receive CAA Player of the Year honors in multiple years. The senior forward has recorded a nation’s-best 20 double-doubles in 31 games and he also leads Division I in rebounding with 11.7 per contest. Benimon, who ranked fourth in the league in scoring with 18.9 points per game, reached double figures in 28 of 31 outings and tallied 20 or more points 17 times. He broke his own Towson season record with 363 rebounds, which was the fourth-most in a season in CAA history and the most by any CAA player other than Navy All-American David Robinson. Showing his all-around game, Benimon was also third in the conference in assists (3.7 apg), fourth in field goal percentage (52.8%) and fifth in blocked shots (1.3 bpg).
Ross guided Delaware its first CAA regular-season championship with a 14-2 mark. The Blue Hens reeled off 13 straight victories between January 1 and mid-February, and matched the best start in conference history with an 11-0 record. Delaware’s 22 overall victories are tied for the fourth-highest total in school history and it’s the most for the Blue Hens in more than a decade. He is first Delaware coach to be honored as CAA Coach of the Year.
Prewitt is just the third William & Mary player to receive Rookie of the Year honors and the first since 2004. The freshman guard/forward led all CAA rookies in scoring with 11.8 points per game and tallied double figures 19 of the Tribe’s 29 contests. He was also second among all conference freshmen in rebounding with 4.7 per game. Prewitt ranked among the top 15 in the league in assists (1.9 apg/15th), free throw percentage (77.2%/4th), 3-point FG percentage (37.6%/7th) and 3-pointers per game (1.6/13th).
Eatherton is the second Northeastern player, and first since 2006, to garner CAA Defensive Player of the Year accolades. The junior forward led the league with 54 blocked shots and had 16 games with two or more rejections. Eatherton was also second in the CAA and 14th in the nation in rebounding with 10.1 per contest. He grabbed double-digit caroms in 19 of his 30 contests.
Rusthoven is the third William & Mary player in the past five years to receive 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.” Rusthoven ranked among the top 20 in the CAA in scoring (12.2 ppg/12th), rebounding (4.9 rpg/17th), field goal percentage (57.7%/1st) and blocked shots (21/11th). Earlier this year, he was one of 75 Division I men’s basketball players nominated for the NABC Good Works Team, which honors student-athletes who have made significant contributions to the great good of their communities through volunteerism and civic service.
Joining Towson’s Benimon on the All-CAA first team were Drexel senior guard Frantz Massenat, Delaware senior guard Devon Saddler, William & Mary junior guard Marcus Thornton and Delaware senior guard Davon Usher.
Massenat received first-team honors for the second time after leading the conference in assists (4.8 apg) and ranking seventh in scoring (17.4 ppg). He also topped the conference and was among the best in Division I in assist/turnover ratio. Massenat ranks sixth on Drexel’s career scoring list with 1,627 points and his 546 career assists rank third all-time at Drexel and ninth in CAA history.
Saddler is a member of the All-CAA first team for the second year in a row. The senior guard led the nation and ranked 22nd in the nation in scoring with 20.2 ppg and was fourth in the league in assists (3.4 apg). Saddler is Delaware’s all-time leading scorer with 2,154 points and ranks seventh on the CAA’s career scoring chart. He scored double figures in 23 of his 24 games this season.
Thornton moves up to the first team after receiving second-team accolades last year. The junior guard was fifth in the CAA in scoring with 18.6 ppg and seventh in assists with 2.8 apg. He scored double digits in 26 of 29 contests. Thornton leads the CAA and ranks 25th nationally with 85 three-pointers. He’s among the CAA’s top 10 in field goal, free throw and 3-point percentage.
Usher earned a spot on the All-CAA first team in his first season at Delaware. The senior guard ranked third in the league in scoring with 19.4 ppg, which included 20 straight games in double figures to end the regular season. He also excelled in other phases of the game, leading the conference in steals (1.8 spg), ranking fourth in 3-pointers (74) and 11th in rebounding (6.0 rpg).
Earning second-team All-CAA honors were Northeastern’s Eatherton (15.5 ppg/10.1 rpg), Drexel graduate student guard Chris Fouch (17.9 ppg/3.2 rpg), College of Charleston senior forward Willis Hall (12.2 ppg/9.0 rpg), William & Mary’s Rusthoven (12.2 ppg/4.9 rpg) and Hofstra graduate student guard/forward Zeke Upshaw (19.6 ppg/4.2 rpg).
Named to the All-CAA third team were Delaware senior forward Carl Baptiste (10.9 ppg/8.3 rpg), James Madison sophomore guard Charles Cooke (14.3 ppg/5.0 rpg), Towson senior forward Marcus Damas (11.4 ppg/5.3 rpg), Towson senior forward/guard Rafriel Guthrie (12.0 ppg/2.9 rpg), James Madison sophomore guard Andre Nation (15.2 ppg/5.3 rpg) and Hofstra graduate student guard Dion Nesmith (13.2 ppg/4.3 apg).
2013-14 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
| First Team All-CAA |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jerrelle Benimon, Towson |
Sr. |
F |
6-8 |
245 |
Warrenton, Va./Fauquier |
| Frantz Massenat, Drexel |
Sr. |
G |
6-4 |
190 |
Ewing, N.J./Trenton Catholic |
| Devon Saddler, Delaware |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
210 |
Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen |
| Marcus Thornton, William & Mary |
Jr. |
G |
6-4 |
185 |
Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara |
| Davon Usher, Delaware |
Sr. |
G |
6-6 |
200 |
South Baltimore, Md./Digital Harbor |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team All-CAA |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/High School |
| Scott Eatherton, Northeastern |
Jr. |
F |
6-8 |
219 |
Hershey, Pa./Hershey |
| Chris Fouch, Drexel |
Gr. |
G |
6-2 |
185 |
Bronx, N.Y./Rice |
| Willis Hall, College of Charleston |
Sr. |
F |
6-6 |
235 |
Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian |
| Tim Rusthoven, William & Mary |
Sr. |
F |
6-9 |
235 |
Winfield, Ill./Wheaton Academy |
| Zeke Upshaw, Hofstra |
Gr. |
G/F |
6-6 |
215 |
Chicago, Ill./University |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Third Team All-CAA |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/High School |
| Carl Baptiste, Delaware |
Sr. |
F |
6-9 |
260 |
Pittstown, N.J./N. Hunterdon |
| Charles Cooke, James Madison |
So. |
G |
6-6 |
200 |
Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic |
| Marcus Damas, Towson |
Sr. |
F |
6-7 |
210 |
Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore |
| Rafriel Guthrie, Towson |
Sr. |
F/G |
6-3 |
210 |
Washington, D.C./Cardozo |
| Andre Nation, James Madison |
So. |
G |
6-5 |
200 |
Plant City, Fla./Faith Baptist Christian |
| Dion Nesmith, Hofstra |
Gr. |
G |
6-0 |
200 |
Union, N.J./Union |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2013-14 CAA Player of the Year – Jerrelle Benimon, Towson |
|
| 2013-14 CAA Coach of the Year – Monte’ Ross, Delaware |
|
| 2013-14 CAA Rookie of the Year – Omar Prewitt, William & Mary |
| 2013-14 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Scott Eatherton, Northeastern |
| 2013-14 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Tim Rusthoven, William & Mary |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| CAA All-Rookie Team |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/High School |
| Canyon Barry, Coll. of Charleston |
Fr. |
G |
6-6 |
195 |
Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain |
| Omar Prewitt, William & Mary |
Fr. |
G/F |
6-6 |
180 |
Mount Sterling, Ky./Montgomery County |
| Jamall Robinson, Hofstra |
Fr. |
G/F |
6-5 |
210 |
Cheltenham, Md./Paul VI |
| Rodney Williams, Drexel |
Fr. |
F |
6-7 |
220 |
Richmond, Va./St. Christopher’s |
| T.J. Williams, Northeastern |
Fr. |
G |
6-3 |
190 |
Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| CAA All-Defensive Team |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/High School |
| Adjehi Baru, Coll. of Charleston |
Jr. |
F |
6-9 |
225 |
Abidjan, Ivory Coast/The Steward School |
| Jerrelle Benimon, Towson |
Sr. |
F |
6-8 |
245 |
Warrenton, Va./Fauquier |
| Scott Eatherton, Northeastern |
Jr. |
F |
6-8 |
219 |
Hershey, Pa./Hershey |
| Davon Usher, Delaware |
Sr. |
G |
6-6 |
200 |
South Baltimore, Md./Digital Harbor |
| David Walker, Northeastern |
So. |
G |
6-6 |
176 |
Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| CAA All-Academic Team |
Cl. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/High School |
| Kyle Anderson, Delaware |
Jr. |
G |
6-3 |
200 |
Newark, Ill./Newark |
| Canyon Barry, Coll. of Charleston |
Fr. |
G |
6-6 |
195 |
Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain |
| Brandon Britt, William & Mary |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
200 |
Chesapeake, Va./Atlantic Shores Christian |
| Kyle Gaillard, William & Mary |
Sr. |
F |
6-8 |
220 |
Huntersville, N.C./North Mecklenburg |
| Willis Hall, College of Charleston |
Sr. |
F |
6-6 |
235 |
Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian |
| Tanner Milson, UNCW |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
190 |
Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill |
| Dion Nesmith, Hofstra |
Gr. |
G |
6-0 |
200 |
Union, N.J./Union |
| Timajh Parker-Rivera, Towson |
So. |
F |
6-7 |
215 |
Milford, Conn./St. Joseph |
| Shane Reybold, UNCW |
Sr. |
F |
6-8 |
238 |
Laurel, Md./Reservoir |
| Tim Rusthoven, William & Mary |
Sr. |
F |
6-9 |
235 |
Winfield, Ill./Wheaton Academy |