Atlantic Sun Conference

@ASUN_MBB Postseason Awards Announced; McGhee Claims Third Player of the Year Honor

2/19/2023 12:00:00 AM

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Postseason Awards/Honors

ATLANTA - For the third season in a row, Liberty's Darius McGhee was named the Player of the Year to highlight the ASUN Conference Men's Basketball Postseason All-Conference accolades, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Kennesaw State garnered both the Defensive Player honor and Coach of the Year accolade with the awards being won by Brandon Stroud and Amir Abdur-Rahim, respectively. Stetson's Jalen Blackmon earned the Newcomer of the Year recognition while North Alabama's Jacari Lane was chosen as both the Freshman and Sixth Man of the Year.

McGhee is the first student-athlete to become a three-time Player of the Year since Centenary's Willie Jackson in 1982-84. On Feb. 22, McGhee surpassed Jackson on the ASUN all-time scoring list with the 2,436th point of his career. At the end of the regular season, he ranks second nationally in three-pointers per game (4.48) and total three-pointers (139) while ranking fifth in total points (691). He has scored 20-or-more points 20 times this season, including a season-best 43 at Kennesaw State, which was the fourth 40-point game of his career.

Stroud took home the first Defensive Player of the Year honor for Kennesaw State after being the only individual to rank in the top 10 for both rebounding (6.5 RPG; 7th) and steals (1.5 SPG; 6th). He led the Owls in rebounding in a team-high 13 games and reached double figures in rebounds in six games, including three times against conference opponents. The Atlanta native recorded nine multi-steal games on the season, with him posting a career-high in a road victory at Bellarmine. He helped KSU finish the regular season ranked first in the ASUN for steals per game with an average of 8.3 per outing.

For the first time in the program's history, Stetson secured the Newcomer of the Year accolade with Blackmon claiming the recognition. The Marion, Ind., native ranked 13th overall in the ASUN for scoring at 14.6 points per game and increased his average to 17.4 in conference matchups which were fourth-best in the league. He shot at a 90.8% clip from the charity stripe, which led the conference, while averaging 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. His play helped guide Stetson to its highest postseason seeding since 2020 as the Hatters enter the 2023 ASUN Championship as the #4 seed.

Lane became the second North Alabama student-athlete to be named Freshman of the Year while also earning the inaugural ASUN Sixth Man of the Year accolade. He leads all ASUN freshmen with 13.3 points per game and scored in double figures 21 times this season. Fifteen of his double-digit performances came in games that he did not start as he came off the bench for the Lions in all but the final six regular-season contests. The Huntsville, Ala., native has led UNA to 18 wins this season, which is the Lions' most in their Division I era.

Abdur-Rahim captured his first Coach of the Year accolade after leading his Kennesaw State squad to a 15-3 mark in ASUN play to secure the ASUN Regular Season Championship as well as a home-court advantage in the conference tournament. The Owls have won 23 games so far in their 2022-23, which is the program's best in its Division I era; KSU won a total of 19 games combined over the past three seasons. The team is just one of six in the nation with 10-or-more road victories (10-6). Abdur-Rahim's honor is also a first for Kennesaw State since the Owls joined the ASUN.