Hofstra's Wright-Foreman Repeats As CAA Men's Basketball Player Of The Year
Rob Washburn
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RICHMOND, Va. (March 8, 2019) – Hofstra senior guard
Justin Wright-Foreman was chosen 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.
Also receiving top honors were Hofstra’s
Joe Mihalich as the CAA Coach of the Year, Drexel freshman guard
Camren Wynter as the CAA Rookie of the Year, Hofstra senior guard
Desure Buie as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and Elon senior guard
Sheldon Eberhardt as the CAA Sixth Man of the Year. William & Mary senior forward
Paul Rowley was chosen as the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award and Elon senior forward
Tyler Seibring was selected as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Wright-Foreman led the CAA and ranked second in the nation in scoring this season with 26.8 points per game. He has tallied double figures in 84 consecutive games, which is a CAA record and the second-longest streak in the nation. The senior reached the 20-point mark 25 times, hit the 30-point plateau in 11 contests and twice topped the 40-point mark, including a school-record 48 points against William & Mary on Feb. 9. Wright-Foreman’s current scoring average is the second-best in CAA history and his 831 total points are the second-most in CAA single-season history. The Pride guard also leads the conference with a school-record 102 three-pointers. Wright-Foreman is one of five finalists for the Jerry West Award as the nation’s top shooting guard and one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. He is the first back-to-back CAA Player of the Year since 2014 and the first unanimous selection since UNCW’s Brett Blizzard in 2003.
Mihalich earned Coach of the Year honors for the first time after guiding Hofstra to its first outright CAA regular-season title. The Pride opened conference play with nine consecutive victories and never relinquished the top spot in the league standings. Hofstra put together a 16-game winning streak from late November through January, which was the longest in the nation. The Pride’s 25 regular-season victories are the most in the school’s Division I history.
Wynter received Rookie of the Year accolades after his strong performance in all phases of the game. The Dragons’ point guard ranked 24
th in the conference in scoring with 11.2 points per game and topped all CAA freshmen in rebounding with 4.5 rpg, which ranked 20
th in the league. He was second in the CAA with 5.4 assists per game and his 41 steals were the sixth-most in the conference. He is the first Drexel player to receive CAA Rookie of the Year honors since 2012.
Buie earned the Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the CAA with 76 steals, which was 25 more than any other player in the conference. The senior guard, who ranks 14
th nationally with 2.45 spg, made at least three thefts 14 times and had a career-high six steals against Towson on Jan. 26. The 76 steals are tied for the 8
th-highest total in CAA history and are the most by a Hofstra player since 1999-2000. Buie is Hofstra’s first CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
Eberhardt is the 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 senior guard ranked third on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game. He tallied double figures in 11 of Elon’s 18 CAA contests, including a career-high 23 points in a win at William & Mary on Jan. 19. Eberhardt also led the Phoenix and ranked ninth in the CAA with 95 assists (3.3 apg).
Rowley received 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.” He graduated magna cum laude with a double major in computer science and finance in 2017 and is currently in his second year of Law School at William & Mary. He became the first Tribe men’s basketball player since 1912 to be named Phi Beta Kappa. The Tribe team captain has participated in numerous community service activities throughout his collegiate career. On the court, Rowley averaged 5.0 points per game this season.
Seibring was selected as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The senior has a 3.95 grade point average while double majoring in English and economics. He was elected into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society last year and has twice been honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-American. On the court, Seibring made the All-CAA second team for the third consecutive year after ranking among top 15 in the league in scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg). He is Elon’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder at the Division I level.
Joining Wright-Foreman on the All-CAA first team were Charleston senior forward
Jarrell Brantley, UNCW senior forward
Devontae Cacok, William & Mary junior forward/center
Nathan Knight, Northeastern senior guard
Vasa Pusica and Charleston junior guard
Grant Riller.
Brantley moved up to the All-CAA first team after making the second team for the past two seasons. The Cougars’ senior forward ranked fourth in the league in scoring (19.5 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and eighth in FG percentage (51.8%). He topped the 20-point mark 15 times and recorded 12 double-doubles. Brantley ranks fourth on Charleston’s all-time scoring list with 1,880 points and is also fourth with 950 career rebounds.
Cacok received first-team All-CAA recognition for the second year in a row. The senior forward leads the nation with 22 double-doubles. He’s ranks second nationally in rebounding with 12.3 per contest and his 381 rebounds are the 5
th-highest total in CAA history. Cacok is also second in the CAA in FG percentage (58.5%) and 14
th in scoring (14.9 ppg). His 1,238 career rebounds are a UNCW record and the 3
rd-most in CAA history and he has 1,556 career points.
Knight jumped to the All-CAA first-team after garnering second-team honors last year. The junior forward ranked among the top five in the CAA in scoring (21.0 ppg/3
rd), rebounding (8.5 rpg/5
th), FG percentage (58.5%/4
th) and blocks (2.2 bpg/1
st) and was also eighth in the league in assists (3.4 apg). He scored double digits in his last 23 straight games and had five 30-point efforts. Knight is one of 10 finalists for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the top center in the nation.
Pusica made the All-CAA first team for the second consecutive season. The senior point guard ranked fifth in the CAA in scoring (17.9 ppg), fourth in assists (4.0 apg) and third in steals (1.5 spg). He was also among the league’s top 15 in field goal (50.0%), 3-point (38.2%) and free throw (83.6%) percentage. Pusica scored 20 or more points 10 times and finished the regular season by tallying double figures in 18 straight games.
Riller was also a repeat selection on the All-CAA first team. The Cougars’ guard ranked second in the league and 18
th in the nation in scoring with 22.3 ppg. He was among the top 10 in the conference in assists (4.0 apg/6
th), steals (1.2 spg), FG percentage (53.9%) and FT percentage (81.1%) as well. Riller tallied double figures in his final 26 games, topped the 20-point mark 20 times and had six 30-point efforts. He’s already 7
th on Charleston’s all-time scoring list (1,762 pts).
Earning second-team All-CAA honors were Delaware senior forward
Eric Carter (16.0 ppg/9.9 rpg), Towson junior guard
Brian Fobbs (17.5 ppg/5.9 rpg), James Madison senior guard
Stuckey Mosley (17.0 ppg/3.8 rpg), Hofstra junior guard
Eli Pemberton (15.6 ppg/4.8 rpg), and Elon’s Seibring (16.5 ppg/5.9 rpg).
Named to the All-CAA third team were Hofstra’s Buie (11.1 ppg/5.4 apg), Drexel junior forward
Alihan Demir (14.9 ppg/6.5 rpg), Drexel senior guard
Troy Harper (15.8 ppg/3.2 rpg), James Madison sophomore guard
Matt Lewis (15.9 ppg/4.3 rpg), William & Mary junior guard/forward
Justin Pierce (14.4 ppg/8.9 rpg) and Northeastern junior guard
Jordan Roland (14.8 ppg/2.5 rpg).
The awards were announced on the eve of the 2019 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by Jersey Mike’s, which will be held March 9-12 at North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, S.C.
2018-19 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
First Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Jarrell Brantley, Col. of Charleston Sr. F 6-7 255 Columbia, S.C./Notre Dame Prep
Devontae Cacok, UNCW Sr. F 6-7 240 Riverdale, Ga./Alpharetta
Nathan Knight, William & Mary Jr. F/C 6-10 245 Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham
Vasa Pusica, Northeastern Sr. G 6-5 210 Belgrade, Serbia/Sunrise Christian
Grant Riller, Col. of Charleston Jr. G 6-3 190 Orlando, Fla./Ocoee
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra Sr. G 6-2 190 Queens, N.Y./High School of Construction
Second Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Eric Carter, Delaware Sr. F 6-9 235 Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial
Brian Fobbs, Towson Jr. G 6-4 215 New York, N.Y./Genesee CC
Stuckey Mosley, James Madison Sr. G 6-4 190 Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek
Eli Pemberton, Hofstra Jr. G 6-5 195 Middletown, Conn./Cheshire Academy
Tyler Seibring, Elon Sr. F 6-9 225 Normal, Ill./Normal Community
Third Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Desure Buie, Hofstra Sr. G 6-0 160 Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy
Alihan Demir, Drexel Jr. F 6-9 232 Ankara, Turkey/Ari College
Troy Harper, Drexel Sr. G 6-1 175 Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann Goretti
Matt Lewis, James Madison So. G 6-5 180 Woodbridge, Va./Bishop O’Connell
Justin Pierce, William & Mary Jr. G/F 6-7 202 Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West
Jordan Roland, Northeastern Jr. G 6-1 171 Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill
2018-19 CAA Player of the Year - Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
2018-19 CAA Coach of the Year – Joe Mihalich, Hofstra
2018-19 CAA Rookie of the Year – Camren Wynter, Drexel
2018-19 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Desure Buie, Hofstra
2018-19 CAA Sixth Man of the Year – Sheldon Eberhardt, Elon
2018-19 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Paul Rowley, William & Mary
2018-19 CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Tyler Seibring, Elon
CAA All-Rookie Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Chase Audige, William & Mary Fr. G 6-4 193 Coram, N.Y./The Hill School
Ithiel Horton, Delaware Fr. G 6-3 200 Vauxhall, N.J./Roselle
Deshon Parker, James Madison Fr. G 6-4 190 Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne
Kai Toews, UNCW Fr. G 6-2 180 Tokyo, Japan/Northfield Mount Hermon
Camren Wynter, Drexel Fr. G 6-2 175 Hempstead, N.Y./Holy Trinity
CAA All-Defensive Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Desure Buie, Hofstra Sr. G 6-0 160 Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy
Devontae Cacok, UNCW Sr. F 6-7 240 Riverdale, Ga./Alpharetta
Nathan Knight, William & Mary Jr. F/C 6-10 245 Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham
Jacquil Taylor, Hofstra Sr. F 6-10 235 Cambridge, Mass./Beaver Country Day
Dennis Tunstall, Towson Jr. F 6-9 225 Willingboro, N.J./Life Center Academy