W&M's Thornton Headlines All-CAA Men's Basketball Team
Rob Washburn
2014-15 All-CAA Men's Basketball Release
RICHMOND, Va. (March 5, 2015) – William and Mary senior guard
Marcus Thornton 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 UNCW’s
Kevin Keatts as the CAA Coach of the Year, Elon freshman guard
Elijah Bryant as the CAA Rookie of the Year and William and Mary junior guard
Terry Tarpey as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year. Northeastern junior guard
Caleb Donnelly and William and Mary senior forward
Tom Schalk were the co-recipients of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.
Thornton is the first W&M player to ever receive CAA Player of the Year honors. The senior guard ranks second in the conference and 21
st in the nation in scoring with 19.4 points per game and has tallied double figures in 35 consecutive contests dating back to last year. He became the Tribe’s all-time leading scorer on Feb 25, breaking a mark that had stood since 1950, and is currently 11
th in CAA history with 2,081 points. Thornton is also the most prolific three-point shooter in W&M history and ranks fifth on the CAA’s all-time treys list with 308. A three-time all-conference selection, Thornton is one of 16 finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He’s currently one of only four players in Division I to be shooting better than 45 percent from the floor (46.4%), 40 percent from 3-point range (40.9%) and 80 percent from the free throw line (81.6%) this season.
In his first season at UNCW, Keatts guided the Seahawks to a share of the CAA regular-season title for the first time since 2006. After being picked to finish ninth in the league’s preseason poll, UNCW surpassed expectations with a 12-6 mark in CAA play, which was its most conference wins since 2007-08. The Seahawks started the year 5-7 before winning 12 of their final 17 games. Keatts is the third UNCW coach to be honored as CAA Coach of the Year, joining Jerry Wainwright (1997, 2001) and Brad Brownell (2003, 2006).
Bryant received Rookie of the Year accolades in Elon’s first season as a member of the CAA. The freshman guard ranked eighth in the league in scoring with 13.9 points per game, which led the Phoenix and was best among all CAA rookies. He tallied double figures in 25 of 31 games and was the team’s top scorer 13 times. Bryant was also second on the team in rebounding (4.2 rpg) and assists (2.8 apg), and was eighth in the conference with a team-high 40 steals.
Tarpey is W&M’s first CAA Defensive Player of the Year honoree after contributing in nearly every phase of the game. The junior guard leads the conference and ranks 51
st nationally with 8.4 rebounds per game, and is also first in the CAA in steals (50) and blocked shots (40). He grabbed 10 or more caroms in 11 games, recorded nine double-doubles and posted the first triple-double in Tribe history on Jan. 10. Tarpey also leads W&M with 89 assists and is third on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game.
Donnelly is the second Northeastern player in the past three seasons 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.” Donnelly, who has a 3.99 grade point average while majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in mathematics, was selected as a class representative to the 2016 American Institute for Chemical Engineers and was a Huntington 100 Award winner, which recognizes the 100 most influential students at Northeastern University. He volunteered for six months as a teacher through the Citizen Schools Program and taught an inner-city, sixth-grade class how to build solar-powered toy cars.
Schalk is the fourth William and Mary player in the past six years to receive the Ehlers Award. He has a 3.7 grade point average while majoring in accounting and has already been accepted to graduate school in W&M’s Masters in Accounting program. Schalk is a three-time recipient of the William & Mary Provost Award, is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and was chosen to represent the College in the 2014 Grant Thornton Program for emerging leaders. Schalk is involved with the Williamsburg Community Chapel where he works with local teens leading bible study groups and mentoring.
Joining Thornton on the All-CAA first team were Northeastern senior forward
Scott Eatherton, Hofstra junior guard
Juan’ya Green, Drexel junior guard
Damion Lee and UNCW senior guard
Addison Spruill.
Eatherton received first-team honors for the first time after earning a spot on the All-CAA second team a year ago. The senior forward ranked fifth in the league in scoring (14.7 ppg), third in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and third in blocked shots (1.2 bpg). He shot 58.7% from the floor, which is the 13
th-best percentage in Division I. Eatherton recorded a team-high five double-doubles this season.
Green earned a spot on the All-CAA first team in his first year at Hofstra. The junior guard was third in the conference in scoring with 17.0 points per game and reached double figures in all 31 contests. He also topped the CAA and ranked ninth in Division I in assists with 6.5 apg. Green posted eight double-doubles in 2014-15 and had the first triple-double in Hofstra history with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against LIU Brooklyn.
Lee bounced back from a season-ending knee injury in 2013-14 to gain a spot on the All-CAA first team. The junior guard led the conference and ranked fifth in the nation in scoring with 21.4 points per game. He topped the 20-point mark 14 times and had five 30-point performances. He was also sixth in the CAA in rebounding (6.1 rpg), fourth in steals (1.5 spg) and ranked 13
th in Division in free throw percentage (88.7%).
Spruill garnered all-conference honors for the first time. The senior guard topped the Seahawks and was seventh in the CAA in scoring with 14.5 points per game and also led UNCW and was fourth in the league in rebounding with 6.5 per game. He shot 45.4% from the floor, which was seventh-best in the conference. Spruill scored double digits 23 times and recorded three double-doubles.
Earning second-team All-CAA honors were James Madison junior guard
Ron Curry (13.8 ppg/4.4 apg), UNCW senior guard
Freddie Jackson (13.2 ppg/5.8 rpg), Hofstra junior guard/forward
Ameen Tanksley (16.7 ppg/5.6 rpg), William & Mary’s Tarpey (12.0 ppg/8.4 rpg) and Northeastern junior guard
David Walker (13.3 ppg/3.3 rpg).
Named to the All-CAA third team were Delaware senior guard
Kyle Anderson (14.6 ppg/4.1 rpg), Elon’s Bryant (13.9 ppg/4.2 rpg), James Madison sophomore forward
Yohanny Dalembert (11.6 ppg/5.9 rpg), Towson sophomore forward
John Davis (11.9 ppg/8.1 rpg), and William & Mary sophomore guard/forward
Omar Prewitt (13.0 ppg/4.2 rpg).
The CAA Men's Basketball Postseason Awards Show will air across our many of our Comcast SportsNet regional partners from March 5-8. For broadcast days and times in your area logon to
CAASports.com/tvinfo or download the
Postseason Awards Show clearance sheet.
2014-15 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
First Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Scott Eatherton, Northeastern Sr. F 6-8 234 Hershey, Pa./Hershey
Juan’ya Green, Hofstra Jr. G 6-2 195 Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll
Damion Lee, Drexel Jr. G 6-6 200 Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall
Addison Spruill, UNCW Sr. G 6-4 225 Currie, N.C./Pender
Marcus Thornton, William & Mary Sr. G 6-4 190 Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara
Second Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Ron Curry, James Madison Jr. G 6-4 190 Pennsauken, N.J./Paul VI
Freddie Jackson, UNCW Sr. G 6-4 185 Wilmington, N.C./New Hanover
Ameen Tanksley, Hofstra Jr. G/F 6-5 230 Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter
Terry Tarpey, William & Mary Jr. G 6-5 210 Stamford, Conn./Fairfield Prep
David Walker, Northeastern Jr. G 6-6 196 Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls
Third Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Kyle Anderson, Delaware Sr. G 6-3 195 Newark, Ill./Newark
Elijah Bryant, Elon Fr. G 6-4 225 Gwinnett, Ga./New Hampton School
Yohanny Dalembert, James Madison So. F 6-8 225 Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Lower Merion (Pa.)
John Davis, Towson So. F 6-5 215 Philadelphia, Pa./Ss. Neumann-Goretti
Omar Prewitt, William & Mary So. G/F 6-6 190 Mount Sterling, Ky./Montgomery County
2014-15 CAA Player of the Year - Marcus Thornton, William & Mary
2014-15 CAA Coach of the Year – Kevin Keatts, UNCW
2014-15 CAA Rookie of the Year – Elijah Bryant, Elon
2014-15 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Terry Tarpey, William & Mary
2014-15 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Caleb Donnelly, Northeastern and Tom Schalk, William & Mary
CAA All-Rookie Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Elijah Bryant, Elon Fr. G 6-4 225 Gwinnett, Ga./New Hampton School
Chivarsky Corbett, Delaware Fr. G 6-7 195 Tampa, Fla./Tampa Catholic
Kory Holden, Delaware Fr. G 6-2 180 Salisbury, Md./J.M. Bennett
Mike Morsell, Towson Fr. F 6-5 190 Fort Washington, Md./St. John’s College
Jordon Talley, UNCW Fr. G 6-0 180 Richmond, Va./Henrico
CAA All-Defensive Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Yohanny Dalembert, James Madison So. F 6-8 225 Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Lower Merion (Pa.)
Scott Eatherton, Northeastern Sr. F 6-8 234 Hershey, Pa./Hershey
Freddie Jackson, UNCW Sr. G 6-4 185 Wilmington, N.C./New Hanover
Damion Lee, Drexel Jr. G 6-6 200 Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall
Terry Tarpey, William & Mary Jr. G 6-5 210 Stamford, Conn./Fairfield Prep
CAA All-Academic Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Kyle Anderson, Delaware Sr. G 6-3 195 Newark, Ill./Newark
Canyon Barry, Coll. of Charleston So. G 6-6 195 Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain
Dimitrije Cabarkapa, James Madison So. F 6-10 240 Novi Sad, Serbia/High Medical School
Caleb Donnelly, Northeastern Jr. G 6-1 181 Hudson, N.H./Alvirne
Luke Eddy, Elon So. G 6-0 170 Charleston, W.Va./George Washington
Christian Hairston, Elon So. G/F 6-7 190 Greensboro, N.C./Greensboro Day School
Kevin Hickson, UNCW Jr. F 6-8 215 Charlotte, N.C./Wofford
Damion Lee, Drexel Jr. G 6-6 200 Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall
Four McGlynn, Towson Jr. G 6-2 180 York, Pa./Dallastown Area
Dion Nesmith, Hofstra Gr. G 6-1 215 Union, N.J./Union
Timajh Parker-Rivera, Towson Jr. F 6-7 215 Milford, Conn./St. Joseph
Tom Schalk, William & Mary Sr. F 6-8 225 Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley
Michael Schlotman, William & Mary R-Fr. G 6-6 200 Munster, Ind./Munster
Rodney Williams, Drexel So. F 6-7 220 Richmond, Va./St. Christopher’s
Ryan Winters, Elon Sr. F 6-7 210 Denver, Colo./Regis Jesuit