March 10, 2013
NORFOLK, Va. – Junior guard Pendarvis Williams was named the MEAC Player of the Year, while Norfolk State men’s basketball head coach Anthony Evans was tabbed the Coach of the Year as the all-conference teams and postseason awards were announced by the MEAC office on Sunday afternoon.
In addition to Williams earning a spot on the All-MEAC first team along with the player of the year award, senior forward Rob Johnson earned a spot on the All-MEAC third team, while freshman Rashid Gaston was tabbed to the All-Rookie Team.
Williams led the Spartans with 14.1 points per game and also added 4.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals in leading NSU to the MEAC regular season title at 16-0. He shot 46.7 percent from the floor, 40.7 percent from the 3-point line and 81.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Williams also averaged 14.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in conference games to give the Spartans back-to-back MEAC player of the year awards after Kyle O’Quinn won the honor last year. It also marks the fifth time ever NSU has had a player win the MEAC player of the year award.
A native of Philadelphia, Williams finished fifth in the conference in scoring as well as third in 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goals per game (2.1) and fourth in free throw percentage.
Evans became the first Spartan coach to win the league’s top honor after leading NSU to a perfect record in conference play at 16-0. After losing four starters from last year’s MEAC tournament championship team that upset No. 2 seed Missouri in the NCAA tournament, the Spartans notched just the fourth-ever undefeated season in the history of the MEAC. Coppin State was the last school to accomplish the feat in 1993-94.
Evans has also led NSU to a current 15-game win streak heading into the team’s first game of the MEAC tournament on Wednesday, tied for the second-longest active win streak in the nation and the longest by an NSU team since 1989-90. The Spartans also finished the year with an 11-0 home record, the first time finishing an entire season undefeated at home since 1970-71.
NSU also won its first outright regular season conference title since capturing the CIAA Northern Division in 1987. The Spartans own a 21-10 overall record to give them their first back-to-back 20 win seasons since 1994-95 and 1995-96.
Johnson finished third on the team with 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds while also contributing 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He was a two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Week and finished the year shooting 37.2 percent from the floor and 67.0 percent from the charity stripe. The Roswell, Ga., native ranked 13th in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (4.1).
Gaston, a four-time MEAC Rookie of the Week this year, averaged 8.2 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds while shooting 57.0 percent from the floor. He became the fifth NSU player to earn a spot on the all-rookie team and the first since Williams did so after the 2010-11 season. Gaston, who hails from Warren, Ohio, was third in field goal percentage in the MEAC, fourth in offensive rebounds (2.8) and 12th in rebounding.
Voting was done by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors. This year also marked the first time the MEAC honored an all-conference third team in its postseason awards.
NSU will play at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC tournament at Scope Arena against the winner of the first-round game between Coppin State and Bethune-Cookman set to take place Tuesday afternoon.
FIRST TEAM
Name School Pos Ht. Cl. Hometown
Jeremy Ingram N.C. Central G 6-3 Jr. Charlotte, N.C.
Pendarvis Williams Norfolk State G 6-6 Jr. Philadelphia, Pa.
DeWayne Jackson Morgan State F 6-8 Sr. Bowie, Md.
Stanton Kidd N.C. Central F 6-7 Jr. Baltimore, Md.
Adrien Coleman B-CU F 6-5 Jr. Atlanta, Ga.
SECOND TEAM
Name School Pos Ht. Cl. Hometown
Tahj Tate Delaware State G 6-4 So. Easley, S.C.
Ray Willis N.C. Central G 6-6 Sr. Atlanta, Ga.
Preston Blackman Savannah State G 6-0 Sr. Hopkins, S.C.
Rashad Hassan Savannah State F 6-7 Sr. Riverdale, Ga.
Matthew Hezekiah S.C. State F 6-11 Jr. Jacksonville, Fla.
THIRD TEAM
Name School Pos Ht. Cl. Hometown
Adrian Powell N.C. A&T F 6-6 Sr. Conover, N.C.
Justin Black Morgan State G/F 6-2 Jr. St. Louis, Mo.
Jamie Adams Florida A&M G 5-10 Jr. Chicago, Ill.
Rob Johnson Norfolk State F 6-8 Sr. Roswell, Ga.
Austin Witter N.C. A&T G/F 6-8 Sr. Princeton Junction, N.J.
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Name School Pos Ht. Cl. Hometown
Rashid Gaston Norfolk State F 6-8 Fr. Warren, Ohio
Patrick Cole Coppin State G 6-5 Fr. Newark, N.J.
Bruce Beckford N.C. A&T F 6-7 Fr. Silver Spring, Md.
Deron Powers Hampton G 5-11 Fr. Williamsburg, Va.
Darryl Palmer S.C. State F 6-7 Fr. Summerville, S.C.
Coach of the Year: Anthony Evans, Norfolk State
Player of the Year: Pendarvis Williams, Norfolk State
Rookie of the Year: Deron Powers, Hampton
Defensive Player of the Year: Austin Witter, North Carolina A&T
Courtesy of nsuspartans.com