2015-16 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball All-Conference and Major Awards Announced
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Lees-McRae College's Austin Anderson headlines the 2015-16 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Awards as he was voted the 2015-16 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Player of the Year. University of Mount Olive forward Dominique Reed was tabbed the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year, while Daniel Burchette of North Greenville University was honored as the Freshman of the Year. King University head man George Pitts rounded out the major awards, being named the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Coach of the Year, the conference announced today.
Anderson, an Anderson, S.C. native, led Lees-McRae to school records in wins (16) and conference wins (12). Overall, he finished third in the conference with 17.5 points per game, while being tied for second in steals per game (1.7) and fourth in free throw percentage (80.9) and points (440). He scored in double figures in 24 of 28 games while turning in 20 points or more on 11 occasions.
Reed becomes the second Mount Olive player in as many years to be named Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year, with Kendall Hargrove winning in 2014-15. Reed ranks second in the conference with 50 blocked shots and an average of 1.7 blocked shots per game. Reed has had eight games this season with at least three blocked shots.
Hailing from Weaverville, N.C., Burchette becomes only the second North Greenville player to be named freshman of the year. He averaged 6.3 points per game and knocked down 23 three-pointers for the Crusaders this season. Burchette also accounted for 30 assists and registered 17 steals and seven blocks.
Pitts was selected Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year after leading the Tornado to its second regular season Conference Carolinas championship and a 23-6 overall record and 17-3 conference mark this season. Coach Pitts led King to a 20-win season for the seventh time in 10 seasons and notched his 200th win at King earlier in the season. The accolade marks the second time he has won conference coach of the year honors, with the first coming in 2012 when King captured its first regular season title in its first year in Conference Carolinas.
King would lead all teams with two first-team selections as the duo of Hunter LeVeau and CJ Good joined Lees-McRae's Anderson on the team. Rounding out the first team would be Mount Olive guard Dontrell Brite and Limestone guard Shaq Dance.
Men's All-Conference First-Team
Austin Anderson, Lees-McRae
C.J. Good, King
Dontrell Brite, Mount Olive
Hunter LeVeau, King
Shaq Dance, Limestone
Men's All-Conference Second-Team
Joby Glymph, Erskine
De'Vonte Jenkins, Pfeiffer
Brolin Floyd, Limestone
Danny Shand, Barton
Dominique Byrd, Barton
Men's All-Conference Third-Team
Ray Chen, Belmont Abbey
Justin Dotson, North Greenville
Andrew Guerrero, Pfeiffer
Dominique Reed, Mount Olive
Mike Moore, Mount Olive
Player of the Year
Austin Anderson, Lees-McRae
Defensive Player of the Year
Dominique Reed, Mount Olive
Freshman of the Year
Daniel Burchette, North Greenville
Coach of the Year
George Pitts, King
Men's Basketball Regular Season Champion
King University
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College and Southern Wesleyan University are currently completing the NCAA DII membership process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.