JACKSON, Miss. – In exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), senior guard Nick Rose of Colorado College was selected as SCAC Men's Basketball Player-of-the-Year, while DePauw University head coach Bill Fenlon was named the league's Coach-of-the-Year. First-year point guard Ryan Milne of Colorado College was selected as the league's Newcomer-of-the-Year while senior center Alex Lloyd of Centre was named the SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year for the second consecutive season. Complete Release
Rose, who was a First-Team all-SCAC selection a year ago, leads the league in scoring for the second consecutive season. Averaging 21.9 points per game (which would be the fifth-highest single-season total in SCAC history), Rose would become just the fifth player in conference history to earn back-to-back scoring titles. He recorded four games of 30 or more points and 13 games of 20 or more during the 2010-11 season. Heading into this weekend's conference tournament, Rose has scored 1,051 points the last two seasons combined – the most points by any player in league history in a two-year stretch. His 1,476 career point total currently ranks 14th all-time in league history. The senior also leads the SCAC in free throw percentage at 90.2 percent (92-102), a total that currently stands as the third-best single-season percentage in league history. Not only is Rose a talented scorer but he is also active on the defensive end as he leads the conference in steals with 56.
A four-time SCAC Player-of-the-Week selection over his career, Rose received five votes for Player-of-the-Year honors to become the first men's player from Colorado College to earn the honor. Centre teammates Greg Ross and Alex Lloyd received two votes each and Oglethorpe University's Todd Ward and Trinity University's Luke Caldarera each picked up one vote.
The winningest coach in DePauw men's basketball history, Bill Fenlon is in his 19th season as the Tigers' head coach and 26th on the collegiate level. Currently sporting a 17-8 overall mark this season – guaranteeing the program its 26th winning season in the last 29 years – Fenlon's DePauw teams have registered a 325-171 record for a .655 winning percentage during this tenure. In 25 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Fenlon's teams have posted a 432-239 record for a .644 winning percentage. This is his second SCAC Coach-of-the-Year honor, with the first coming in 2001-02 when his Tigers were ranked fourth in the final D3hoops.com poll.
In very tight balloting, Fenlon received four votes for Coach-of-the-Year followed by Greg Mason of Centre with three votes. Mitch Cole of Birmingham-Southern received two votes while Pat Cunningham of Trinity and Andy Partee of Colorado College received one vote each.
Colorado College's Milne started in all 25 games for the Tigers, averaging 10.2 points and 4.0 assists per game. His 101 assists currently lead the SCAC. Milne recorded a season high of 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds on Dec. 3 at Hendrix. He also ranks 26th in the SCAC in scoring, 12th in steals (1.4 per game) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (39.2%). Milne is the first Colorado College basketball player – men's or women's – to earn the league's Newcomer-of-the-Year honor.
Milne garnered five votes in earning the league's Newcomer-of-the-Year award voting, narrowly surpassing the four votes received by Jordan Hancock of Austin College. Robert Kitzinger of Trinity received two votes and Colton Primm of Hendrix College receved the remaining vote.
Lloyd set the Centre career blocked shots record this season, breaking the previous mark of 136 set by Rob King. His 143 career blocks currently rank sixth all-time in league history. The senior also leads the SCAC in rebounding this season, averaging 9.8 caroms per contest. Lloyd has 723 career rebounds heading into this weekend's tournament, the 11th highest total in conference history. The Colonels are ranked second nationally in scoring defense and Lloyd is the anchor of the group, changing many shots at the rim. In addition to his Defensive POTY award, Lloyd, who is averaging 9.6 points per game (with nine double-doubles) while shooting 58.8 percent from the field, was voted all-SCAC First Team for the first time in his career.
Lloyd is the third Centre big man to earn the league's Defensive Player-of-the-Year honor – following John Patterson (2007-2008) and Coy Zerhusen (2005-2006). The senior, who is the third player in SCAC history to earn back-to-back Defensive POTY honors, picked up 10 of 11 possible first-place votes in the process, while Ross Simpson of DePauw University and LV Sumler of Millsaps College received one vote each.
As for the other members of the All-SCAC First Team, Rose and Lloyd are joined on the squad by junior forward Greg Ross of Centre, senior forward Luke Caldarera of Trinity and senior forward Todd Ward of Oglethorpe.
Caldarera leads Trinity in scoring and rebounding for the second consecutive year, averaging 14.2 points (seventh in the SCAC) and 6.3 rebounds (eighth in the SCAC) per game. He is also currently fifth in field goal percentage (45.2%) and 11th in steals (1.4 per game). Caldarera, a NABC all-district selection last season, is the first Trinity player to earn First Team all-SCAC honors three times in a career since Quintin Mason garnered First Team honors in 1998-99, 1999-00 and 2000-01.
After a sophomore campaign in which he averaged less than eight minutes of action and 2.7 points per game, Ross burst on the scene to score a career-high 27 points in Centre's second game of the 2010-11 season, a 62-48 victory over LaGrange. That performance proved to be a precursor of things to come as Ross posted four more 20+ point efforts and led the Colonels in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game (sixth in the SCAC) while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 86.7 percent from the charity stripe (third in the SCAC). The junior also grabbed 6.5 rebounds per contest – good for sixth in the SCAC.
Ward, a D3hoops.com preseason all-America selection, posted a league-high 13 double-doubles during the regular season. The senior averaged 15.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game for the Petrels (both good for second in the SCAC) and shot 53.3 percent from the field (third in the SCAC). Like Caldarera, Ward is a three-time all-SCAC First Team selection, the first Oglethorpe player to ever accomplish the feat. He enters this year's SCAC tournament with 1,391 career points (23rd all-time in the SCAC) and 844 career rebounds (third all-time in the SCAC). He is just 13 rebounds from equaling the league's all-time record of 857 held by Centre's Coy Zerhusen.
For the complete release, click here.
.jpg?max_width=280&max_height=139&crop=true)
.jpg?max_width=280&max_height=139&crop=true)
