Liberty's Homesley Highlights 2019-20 @ASUN_MBB Postseason Awards
Liberty's Homesley Highlights 2019-20 @ASUN_MBB Postseason Awards
All-Conference Teams/Awards | Championship Page | Bracket | Championship Program
ATLANTA, Ga. - Jacksonville and Liberty both landed two of the top ASUN Conference Men's Basketball Postseason All-Conference accolades, as voted on by the league coaches. Liberty's Caleb Homesley was named Player of the Year while Ritchie McKay was named Coach of the Year along with North Florida's Matthew Driscoll. The Jacksonville duo of David Bell and Destin Barnes were tabbed Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, respectively. The Freshman of the Year honor went to Stetson's Rob Perry.
Homesley becomes the first Liberty player to be named Player of the Year after leading the Flames to a share of the ASUN Regular Season title and No. 1 seed in the ASUN Championship. On the year, the senior averaged 15.0 points per contest to go along with 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. In league games, Homesley scored at a rate of 17.6 PPG and shot 48.8 percent from the field. The guard scored in double figures 21 times this season, including eight games with 20 or more points including a career-high-tying 30 points at North Alabama (Feb. 8).
McKay and Driscoll shared Coach of the Year honors after both leading their respective Liberty and North Florida squads to 13-3 league records for a share of the ASUN Regular Season crown. The Flames enter the postseason with a 27-4 overall record and are No. 66 in the NCAA NET ranking. The Ospreys begin postseason play as the No. 2 seed in the ASUN Championship and have a 20-11 overall mark.
Jacksonville's Bell was named Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team All-Conference after ranking second in the ASUN in both rebounds (10.0) and blocks (2.5) per game against conference opponents. He averaged 6.8 defensive rebounds (3rd) and 3.2 offensive boards (T1st) in league games. Bell, a senior from Cleveland, Ohio, was the only conference player to average a double-double (12.5 PPG, 10.0 RPG) in ASUN contests this season. He becomes the fourth Dolphin player to earn the award and second in the last three years.
Barnes is just the second Jacksonville player to win Newcomer of the Year honors in program history. The junior transfer led the Dolphins averaging 12.6 points per game against ASUN competition, which also ranked 12th in the league. In conference games, he led JAX with 26 three-pointers made, which is 12th in the ASUN, and 79 made field goals while starting all 16 conference games.
Perry becomes the third Stetson Hatter to capture Freshman of the Year accolades after leading all first-year players scoring 15.7 points per game in ASUN play which ranked fifth overall. He also grabbed 5.0 rebounds per game (14th), connected on 41.7 percent of his three-point attempts (2nd) and averaged 33.9 minutes per game (6th) in league outings.
Player of the Year: Caleb Homesley, Liberty
Defensive Player of the Year: David Bell, Jacksonville
Newcomer of the Year: Destin Barnes, Jacksonville
Freshman of the Year: Rob Perry, Stetson
Coaches of the Year: Ritchie McKay, Liberty & Matthew Driscoll, North Florida
ASUN All-Conference First Team
Caleb Homesley, Liberty, Guard, Sr.
Scottie James, Liberty, Forward, Sr.
Ahsan Asadullah, Lipscomb, Center, So.
Ivan Gandia-Rosa, North Florida, Guard, Sr.
Garrett Sams, North Florida, Guard/Forward, Sr.
ASUN All-Conference Second Team
David Bell, Jacksonville, Center, Sr.
Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz, Liberty, Guard, Sr.
Zach Cooks, NJIT, Guard, Jr.
Carter Hendricksen, North Florida, Forward, So.
Rob Perry, Stetson, Guard, Fr.
ASUN All-Freshmen Team
*Rob Perry, Stetson, Guard
*Mahamadou Diawara, Stetson, Forward/Center
*KJ Johnson, Lipscomb, Guard
*Mervin James, North Alabama, Forward
Mo Arnold, Jacksonville, Guard
* - Denotes unanimous selection
The 2020 ASUN Men's Basketball Championship begins on Tuesday, March 3, at four separate quarterfinal sites with Liberty, Lipscomb, North Florida and Stetson hosting contests. The semifinals take place on Thursday, March 5, while the ASUN Final tips on Sunday, March 8, at 3 PM ET on ESPN.
ABOUT THE ASUN
The ASUN Conference is an NCAA Division I league with nine member institutions committed to Building Winners for Life. The ASUN meets the challenge of maintaining the highest standards in academic and athletic achievement through a true balance between student and athlete. Six ASUN schools reside in Nielsen Top 50 national media markets, and all nine are in top 80 markets. The ASUN includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Liberty University, Lipscomb University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University of North Alabama, University of North Florida and Stetson University. Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., joins the ASUN for the 2020-21 academic year.