The CAA will hand out its postseason awards ahead of the conference tournament, which changes this year as it will now run Saturday to Tuesday after wrapping around the weekend before Selection Sunday for a long time.
I have been a voter for the conference postseason awards, as well as its preseason predictions, for over a decade. It is always an interesting exercise, and given the significance of it, a job much less fun and much more work that the casual observer might imagine. This time around, there were tough votes for the All-CAA teams and a couple of the awards. This was particularly acute in the case of the All-Rookie team, as this was not a banner year in terms of freshmen making big impacts in the CAA. This is not a judgment on the ultimate talent or impact of the freshmen across the conference; the reality is that most of the conference’s young talent had to wait their turn behind veterans this year.
With that out of the way, here is a look at how I voted for the CAA postseason awards.
Player of the Year: Vasa Pusica, Northeastern
This was not a year with an obvious winner, though candidates were not lacking. You can make a case for CAA scoring champion Justin Wright-Foreman or either star on College of Charleston, especially since the Cougars had to go without Jarrell Brantley for the first 10 games of the season. In the end, Pusica gets the nod, as the San Diego transfer is the latest success story for Bill Coen and the Huskies. He filled the stat sheet constantly and did a lot of things, though he might not have initially stood out since of all the stat categories where he is in the top 10 in the conference, he is in the top five in just one (assists, where he is third). He was the leader of a Northeastern team that tied for the regular season title despite having no other real stars, just a solid all-around cast.
Rookie of the Year: Ryan Allen, Delaware
If Allen wins, it will be the second year in a row that a Delaware player has won this award (and interestingly, they share a first name as Ryan Daly won it last year). This is far from a lock, however, as this vote came down to Allen and James Madison’s Matt Lewis, and Lewis winning would be a good choice as well. Any advantage Allen has is slight, and while enough to get my vote, I won’t be surprised if Lewis wins instead.
Defensive Player of the Year: Austin Williams, Drexel
Williams led the conference in blocked shots and was fifth in the conference in rebounding, so he was a big bright spot on a team that otherwise left something to be desired at that end of the floor. This is almost always a tough one to figure, and if he doesn’t win it, Nathan Knight (William & Mary) and Shawn Occeus (Northeastern) look like other prime candidates, as is Devontae Cacok (UNCW), who won the award last year and was even better on the glass this time around.
Coach of the Year: Bill Coen, Northeastern
Coen has had a fine 12-year run on Huntington Ave, but interestingly, he has yet to win this award. That should change this year, though, as the Huskies were certainly not anyone’s pick as a contender since they lost the CAA Player of the Year and a lot more than most realize. Also gone from last year’s team were their second- and third-leading scorer, and those departures also comprised their top two rebounders and top three assist men. In other words, this team had a lot of questions coming in, and understandably many picked them in the second division. In the end, this team also didn’t have much star power as it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Huskies with just one All-CAA selection. Even so, this team tied for the regular season title, and that should earn Coen the nod for this one, although William & Mary head coach Tony Shaver should get some votes as well.
Sixth Man of the Year: Bolden Brace, Northeastern
The conference has a new award this year for the best reserve player. More than a half dozen players were nominated, and Brace is the selection as he gave the Huskies a boost all year long off the bench. The sophomore actually leads the team in rebounding and is second in assists, and shoots over 40 percent from long range, with all of those numbers being better in CAA play.
First Team
Joe Chealey, College of Charleston
David Cohn, William & Mary
Vasa Pusica, Northeastern
Grant Riller, College of Charleston
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
Chealey didn’t quite match his performance of a year ago, when he was a serious Player of the Year candidate, but was a big part of the Cougars’ regular season title. Cohn made the conference’s best offense go, both shooting the ball and as the floor leader as he shot well over 41 percent from long range and led the conference in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. Pusica came in and was the Huskies’ best player right away on a team with no other stars, and he did it all for the Huskies. Riller looked like a future star last year and turned into one this year, especially in the last month as few in the country have played better. Wright-Foreman led the conference in scoring and was in the top ten in assists to lead Hofstra’s third-place finish.
Second Team
Devontae Cacok, UNCW
Tramaine Isabell, Drexel
Nathan Knight, William & Mary
Zane Martin, Towson
Stuckey Mosley, James Madison
Cacok had no trouble adjusting to the coaching change in Wilmington, averaging a double-double that includes being the nation’s leading rebounder. Isabell made an instant impact at Drexel and was the brightest spot on a team that had their struggles. Knight built on a solid freshman campaign by being one of the best frontcourt players in the conference at both ends of the floor, coming in second in blocked shots and ranking in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. Martin was third in the conference in scoring to lead a well-balanced Towson team that largely made its mark on defense, and he was appreciably better in CAA play. Mosley was fifth in scoring and in the top ten in a couple of other categories, making him a bright spot as a veteran on the young Dukes.
Third Team
Ryan Daly, Delaware
Rokas Gustys, Hostra
Mike Morsell, Towson
Justin Pierce, William & Mary
Jordon Talley, UNCW
Daly followed up his Rookie of the Year season with a solid campaign to lead the young Blue Hens. Gustys was again a monster on the glass and averaged a double-double while leading the conference in field goal percentage. Morsell teamed with Martin to lead Towson as their second-leading scorer. Pierce shot over 43 percent from long range and was fourth in rebounding to go with being in the top 15 in scoring as a key cog in the Tribe’s high-powered offense. Talley was just outside the top 10 in scoring, second in assists, third in assist-to-turnover ratio and shot just under 40 percent from long range to help lead the Seahawks.
All-Rookie Team
Ryan Allen, Delaware
Darius Banks, James Madison
Matt Lewis, James Madison
Tomas Murphy, Northeastern
Jalen Ray, Hofstra
Allen should win or be runner-up for Rookie of the Year, as he came in and made an impact right away alongside last year’s winner, Ryan Daly. Banks and Lewis were the best of a big group of freshmen at James Madison, who had just two scholarship holdovers from a year ago, with Lewis a prime candidate to win Rookie of the Year. Murphy was part of the support cast for Northeastern and has a bright future, as does Ray, whose role this year was limited in part by the presence of excellent veterans on his team.
All-Defensive Team
Eric Carter, Delaware
Nick Harris, College of Charleston
Nathan Knight, William & Mary
Shawn Occeus, Northeastern
Austin Williams, Drexel
Carter was third in the conference in rebounding and blocked nearly a shot a game to anchor the Blue Hens’ defense inside. Harris provided a similar presence for the Cougars, coming in third in the conference in blocked shots. Knight was second in the conference in blocked shots and finished in the top ten in rebounding, and was a consistent presence. The only guard I voted for, Occeus led the conference in steals, including six in the regular season finale, and he was better in conference play. Williams led the conference in blocked shots and was fifth in the conference in rebounding to lead Drexel at that end of the floor.
