UT Arlington's Marquez Haynes Named Southland Player of the Year
KATY, Texas - UT Arlington guard Marquez Haynes was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year Tuesday, in conjunction with the announcement of the all-conference teams, which were selected by a combined vote of the league's men's basketball coaches and sports information directors.
Additionally, Sam Houston State forward Gilberto Clavell was named the Newcomer of the Year and UTSA guard Melvin Johnson III received Freshman of the Year honors. Sam Houston State head coach Bob Marlin was named the Southland's Coach of the Year.
Haynes leads the conference and ranks third in the nation in scoring, averaging 22.8 points per game. The senior from Irving, Texas, becomes just the second UT Arlington student-athlete to be named the league player of the year and is the first since Albert Culton won the award in 1982. In just two seasons with the Mavericks, Haynes, a transfer from Boston College, has scored 1,156 points, including a school-record 661 points this season, helping his team qualify for the conference tournament for the eighth consecutive season. Haynes has scored 20 points or more a league-high 19 times this season and has a school-record seven 30-point games, including a season-high 38 points against UTSA in January.
Clavell not only helped Sam Houston State win its third regular-season conference championship, but also helped it reach the Southland tournament for the eighth consecutive season as well. The junior from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, averaged 16.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game to lead the Bearkats. Clavell, a transfer from Collin County Community College, paced the Bearkats in scoring 13 times this season and had 11 20-point games. He topped 30 three times, scoring 34 in a win at Auburn in December and a season-high 35 in the regular-season finale against Texas State. He is the Bearkats' second player to be named the league newcomer of the year, joining Donald Cole who earned the honor in 2002.
Johnson was a key contributor for UTSA this season. In 27 games, the freshman from Dallas, Texas, averaged 7.7 points in 12.5 minutes per game. The guard was a threat from behind the 3-point arc, connecting on 43 of his 101 long-range attempts, giving him a 42.6 3-point field goal percentage, which led the team and ranked fourth in the Southland. He led the team in scoring three times this season and scored a season-high 20 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in January. He is the fourth Roadrunner to be named the conference's freshman of the year and the second in the last three seasons.
Marlin earned his third coach of the year honor after guiding Sam Houston State to its third regular-season conference championship. Now in his 12th season in Huntsville, he also was voted coach of the year in 2000 and 2003 after guiding the Bearkats to regular-season championships, as well. Sam Houston State finished 14-2 in conference play, the most league wins by the program since winning 17 in 2003 when it won the conference tournament championship to qualify for the NCAA tournament. With a 22-7 overall record, Sam Houston State is one of 51 programs in the country to have won at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons. A finalist for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year, Marlin is 222-130 with the Bearkats and has a 16-year career record of 345-165.
Haynes was also named first-team All-Southland Conference selections. He was joined on the first team by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi guard Kevin Palmer, Nicholls guard Anatoly Bose and Sam Houston State guards Ashton Mitchell and Corey Allmond. Bose and Palmer ranked second and third in the league in scoring behind Haynes, averaging 20.4 and 19.7 points, respectively. Palmer led the league in assists, averaging 2.5 per game. Allmond was the conference's fifth-ranked scorer with 16.3 points per game. Mitchell averaged 12.2 points per game and led the league with 5.0 assists per contest.
Joining Clavell on the second team were Southeastern forward/center Patrick Sullivan (15.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3.2 bpg), Clavell, Stephen F. Austin guard Eddie Williams (13.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Lamar forward Justin Nabors (14.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg) and UTSA guard Devin Gibson (12.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.5 apg). The third-team choices were Texas State forward Cameron Johnson (14.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi forward Demond Watt (12.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Northwestern State forward Will Pratt (13.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg), McNeese guard Patrick Richard (12.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Stephen F. Austin forward Walt Harris (11.6 ppg).
Sam Houston State led all universities with three all-conference selections. Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each placed two on the all-conference squads, while eight of the other nine schools had at least one all-league honoree.
A total of five all-conference players were also recognized last season. Palmer and Allmond repeat as first-team selections, while first-team selections Haynes and Mitchell moved up from the second team. Gibson, a second-team selection, moved up from the third team. Additionally, six student-athletes were named honorable mention all-conference after receiving votes from at least 25 percent of the coaches and sports information directors.
All three all-conference teams are listed below.
The 2010 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament will be played this week at the Leonard E. Merrell Center. Four men's quarterfinal games will be played Wednesday beginning at noon with semifinal games Thursday at 6:05 p.m. and approximately 8:33 p.m. The championship game will be played Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and televised on ESPN2. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the Merrell Center box office.
2009-10 Men's Basketball All-Southland Conference Teams
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First Team
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Name
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University
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Pos.
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Class
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Hometown
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Marquez Haynes*
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UT Arlington
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G
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Sr.
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Irving, Texas
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Kevin Palmer*
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
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G/F
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Sr.
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Baltimore, Md.
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Anatoly Bose*
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Nicholls
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G/F
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Jr.
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Sydney, Australia
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Ashton Mitchell*
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Sam Houston State
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G
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Sr.
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New Orleans, La.
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Corey Allmond
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Sam Houston State
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G
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Sr.
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Oxon Hill, Md.
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| |
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Second Team
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|
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Patrick Sullivan
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Southeastern Louisiana
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F/C
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Sr.
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Orlando, Fla.
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Gilberto Clavell
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Sam Houston State
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F
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Jr.
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Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
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Eddie Williams
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Stephen F. Austin
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G
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Jr.
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Lawton, Okla.
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Justin Nabors
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Lamar
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F
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Sr.
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Holly Springs, Miss.
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Devin Gibson*
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UTSA
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G
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Jr.
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Houston, Texas
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| |
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Third Team
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Cameron Johnson
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Texas State
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F
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Jr.
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Richardson, Texas
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Demond Watt
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
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F
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Jr.
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Chicago, Ill.
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Will Pratt
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Northwestern State
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F
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Jr.
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Harlem, N.Y.
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Patrick Richard
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McNeese State
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G
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So.
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Carencro, La.
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Walt Harris
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Stephen F. Austin
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G
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Sr.
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Killeen, Texas
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Honorable Mention: Mitch Reuter, Central Arkansas; Fred Hunter, Nicholls; William Mosley, Northwestern State; Jereal Scott, Stephen F. Austin; Omar Johnson, UTSA; Morris Smith IV, UTSA.
Player of the Year: Marquez Haynes, UT Arlington
Newcomer of the Year: Gilberto Clavell, Sam Houston State
Freshman of the Year: Melvin Johnson III, UTSA
Coach of the Year: Bob Marlin, Sam Houston State