3.4.2002 Men's Basketball All-Conference Awards
Dwyane Wade |
A talented collection of backcourt performers headlines the 2002 All-Conference USA First Team. Five of the six first team selections are guards, including Cincinnati senior Steve Logan, Charlotte senior Jobey Thomas, Louisville junior Reece Gaines, Marquette sophomore Dwyane Wade and Memphis freshman Dajuan Wagner. Memphis center Kelly Wise rounds out the first team as the only frontcourt player on the squad. The awards are voted on by the league's coaches and media.
The Conference USA Player of the Year last season, Logan led the league in scoring at 22.6 points per game this year while helping the Bearcats to their seventh consecutive regular season league championship. A finalist for the Naismith, Wooden and Senior CLASS awards, Logan has moved into second place on C-USA's all-time scoring list with 1,892 points, having reached double-figure scoring in his last 51 outings. Logan also has moved past former UC All-American Oscar Robertson and NBA Hall of Famer into second place in career assists with 432. His 41-point performance against Southern Miss on Feb. 15 was the second-highest point total ever by a C-USA player. Logan has recorded two of the seven 40-plus point games in league history.
Thomas is Conference USA's all-time leader in three-point field goals made with 338. This season, he broke the conference's single-season record for treys with 102, while ranking fourth in scoring at 19.4 points per game. Thomas leads C-USA in free throw percentage .901 and was also named a Verizon Academic All-District first team selection for his 3.5 GPA in Communications.
With a scoring average of 20.5 points per game, Gaines is in position to become the first Louisville player to average more than 20 points per game in a season since All-American Darrell Griffith averaged 22.9 points per game in leading the Cardinals to the 1980 national championship. Gaines has connected on 76 three-pointers and ranks sixth in the league in free throw shooting. An NABC District 7 first team selection, he has scored 20 or more points 16 times this season.
Wade has exploded onto the Conference USA scene and has played a large role in Marquette's nine-win improvement from last season and its national ranking. The all-around performer leads his team in scoring (18.1 per game), rebounding (6.8 per game), assists (97) and steals (a league-high 74). A two-time C-USA Player of the Week, Wade has scored 20 or more points on nine different occasions.
Wagner enters this week?s Conference USA Tournament as the league?s second-leading scorer at 21.4 points per game. He has scored at least 20 points on 20 different occasions, which is tops in C-USA. He also ranks among the league leaders in assists at 3.43 per game. He has been held to single digits just once in his college career, and he was recently named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 7 team. Wagner has helped Memphis to 22 wins, its highest total since 1995-96.
Wise has been one of the most consistent frontcourt players in the league again this season. The 6-10 senior is Conference USA's all-time leader in double-doubles with 42, including a league-best 14 this season. Wise tops C-USA in rebounding at 10.8 per game and, combined with his 11.9 points per game scoring average, will average a double-double for the second straight season. A three-time all-conference selection, Wise leads the league in field goal percentage at .589 and ranks eighth in blocked shots with 41.
The Conference USA second team includes TCU junior guard Junior Blount, Marquette senior guard Cordell Henry, South Florida senior forward Altron Jackson, Saint Louis guard Marque Perry and senior forward/center Cam Stephens of Charlotte.
C-USA's third team is comprised of Tulane junior forward Brandon Brown, UAB senior forward Will Campbell, Southern Miss senior forward Elvin Mims, Cincinnati junior guard Leonard Stokes, Houston junior forward Louis Truscott and South Florida senior forward B.B. Waldon, the first player in Conference USA history to be named to one of the all-conference teams four straight years.
Twelve teams had at least one player named to one of the all-league teams. Charlotte, Cincinnati, Marquette, Memphis and South Florida tied for the most players with two each.
2001-02 C-USA MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
2001-02 ALL-CONFERENCE USA FIRST TEAM
Reece Gaines, Louisville, G, 6-6, 195, Jr., Madison, Wis. (Madison West)
Steve Logan, Cincinnati, G, 6-0, 196, Sr., Cleveland, Ohio (Lakewood St. Edward)
Jobey Thomas, Charlotte, G, 6-4, 190, Sr., Charlotte, N.C. (Independence)
Dwyane Wade, Marquette, G, 6-4, 210, So., Oak Lawn, Ill. (Richards)
Dajuan Wagner, Memphis, G, 6-3, 197, Fr., Camden, N.J. (Camden)
Kelly Wise, Memphis, F, 6-10, 217, Sr., Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (Choctawhatchee)
2001-02 ALL-CONFERENCE USA SECOND TEAM
Junior Blount, TCU, G, 6-0, 155, Jr., Tulsa, Okla. (Connors JC)
Cordell Henry, Marquette, G, 5-10, 160, Sr., Chicago, Ill. (Whitney Young)
Altron Jackson, South Florida, F, 6-6, 186, Sr., Sarasota, Fla. (Riverview)
Marque Perry, Saint Louis, G, 6-1, 175, Jr., Chicago, Ill. (Prosser)
Cam Stephens, Charlotte, F/C, 6-8, 240, Sr., Fort Wayne, Ind. (Vincennes University)
2001-02 ALL-CONFERENCE USA THIRD TEAM
Brandon Brown, Tulane, F, 6-8, 230, Jr., Houma, La. (Terrebonne)
Will Campbell, UAB, F, 6-8, 245, Sr., Elmira, N.Y. (Chipola JC)
Elvin Mims, Southern Miss, F, 6-5, 205, Sr., Century, Fla. (Northview)
Leonard Stokes, Cincinnati, G, 6-6, 202, Jr., Buffalo, N.Y. (Turner Carroll)
Louis Truscott, Houston, F, 6-7, 215, Jr., Houston, Texas (Milby)
B.B. Waldon, South Florida, F, 6-8, 210, Sr., Lakeland, Fla. (Kathleen)