IRVING, Texas – The 2017-18 Conference USA superlative awards have been announced, with players from three different schools being honored among the four awards. UTSA guard
Jhivvan Jackson was named Freshman of the Year, Middle Tennessee senior forward
Nick King was chosen Newcomer of the Year, Marshall junior forward
Ajdin Penava garnered Defensive Player of the Year recognition and UTSA junior guard
Deon Lyle was selected as the Sixth Player of the Year. Voting on the awards was done by the C-USA head coaches and media members in each conference city.
2018_Men_s_Basketball_Superlative_Awards
Jackson is the fifth-leading freshman scorer in the NCAA and the fifth-leading scorer in C-USA overall with an 18.4 average. He tallied four 30-point, 14 20-point and 25 double-digit scoring performances on the year while establishing a new UTSA freshman scoring record with 534 points. Jackson was named C-USA Freshman of the Year seven times and led the Roadrunners in scoring a team-high 18 times. The Bayamón, Puerto Rico native connected on three or more 3-pointers in 17 games and had 77 total treys. Jackson, the sixth player in UTSA history to earn Conference Freshman of the Year honors and first since Jeromie Hill in 2011, had his outstanding rookie season cut short on Feb. 28 due to a knee injury.
The only player in C-USA that ranks in the top five in scoring and rebounding, King places second with 21.2 points per game and fifth with 8.4 rebounds per contest. In his 30 starts, he has led the team in scoring 23 times and registered 18 games with 20 or more points, while placing third in C-USA in double-doubles with 10. King enters this week’s C-USA Championship with 637 points this season, breaking the Middle Tennessee school record of 623, set by Kim Cooksey in 1985-86. He has also has tied the school record for most career 30-point games (four), despite only playing in 30 games in Blue and White. The Memphis native has been named Conference USA Player of the Week four times, the most of any player this season.
Penava leads the nation in total blocked shots (124) and blocked shots per game (4.28) and has a defensive rating of 91.8 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court. The 124 blocks are third all-time in a single season in C-USA history. Penava is 11th in the league points per game (15.4) and his 8.6 rebounds per game is fourth in the league. The 194 defensive rebounds that Penava has pulled down places him second in C-USA in that category. The Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, native has 13 games with five or more blocked shots this season and three games with nine blocks. Penava was named C-USA Player of the Week on December 18. He becomes the second Marshall player to be named C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, joining Hassan Whiteside, who won the award in 2010.
Lyle is UTSA’s third-leading scorer overall and second-leading scorer in conference games, having come off the bench in all but the final two games of the regular season. He leads C-USA and ranks 19th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 44.4 and third in 3-pointers per game at 2.8. Lyle has reached double-digit scoring 19 times, including 11 vs. C-USA opponents (each of last seven) and a career-high 33 in the regular season finale over Rice. The Hastings, Nebraska, native leads UTSA with 88 three-pointers made and his 60 threes vs. C-USA foes is second in the league. Lyle has hit three or more 3-pointers in 15 games and is tied for fourth on UTSA in rebounding.
2017-18 C-USA Men’s Basketball Superlative Awards
Freshman of the Year: Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA
Newcomer of the Year: Nick King, Middle Tennessee
Defensive Player of the Year: Ajdin Penava, Marshall
Sixth Player of the Year: Deon Lyle, UTSA
Conference USA will announce its 2017-18 Player of the Year and Gene Bartow Coach of the Year on Wednesday morning. The 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco tips off on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ConferenceUSA.com.