On Sunday morning, I sent in my ballot voting for the CAA postseason honors, something I have done for over a decade now. The conference will announce the honors just before the conference tournament, which begins on Saturday.
As usual, this was an interesting exercise, although this year a couple of the big awards were really no-brainers. The big exercise usually comes in selecting the All-CAA teams, the All-Rookie team and especially All-Defensive team, the last one largely because the available numbers are unsatisfying and leaves any attempt to judge players there to be based on seeing every team play and not just one time. Even so, we have to take a crack at it, and it’s worth noting that this year’s crop of freshmen feels like a better one than a year ago, though the ultimate judgment of the class is still three years away.
Without further adieu, here’s a look at how I voted for the CAA postseason awards this year.
Player of the Year: Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
Last year, it was a tough call between Wright-Foreman and Northeastern’s Vasa Pusica. This year, not so much. There was only one choice for this, the senior guard who led Hofstra to their first outright CAA title with a monster year. He will go down as the conference scoring champion and likely the second-leading scorer in the nation (behind Chris Clemons), but he did so while shooting 52 percent from the field including 44 percent from long range, and he was Mr. Clutch as well, which you expect of the best players. He didn’t exactly carry a bad team, as the Pride have plenty of talent, but he was the unquestioned leader of the pack and should take home this trophy for a second year in a row.
Rookie of the Year: Kai Toews, UNCW
This year’s crop of freshmen was pretty good, overall a little better than last year’s, in terms of instant impact. Toews gets a slight nod over the others as he led the conference in assists and is second in the nation in that category, which is impressive for a freshman. He’s also in the top five in assist-to-turnover ratio, and a big reason why this program has a lot to look forward to despite losing one of the conference’s best players to graduation. He had some good competition for this award, so it would be a little surprising if he were to win in a landslide.
Defensive Player of the Year: Nathan Knight, William & Maryland
William & Mary is known for their offense, but their defense is often better than many realize. This award is never easy to vote on, but this year, Knight gets the nod for this award as the conference leader in blocked shots and fifth-leading rebounder. He did plenty of work at the offensive end, but that he kept it up at the other end of the floor is a credit to the season he’s had. With his work, the Tribe led the conference in blocked shots by a wide margin.
Coach of the Year: Joe Mihalich, Hofstra
Conventionally, this honor goes to a coach whose team over-achieved the most based on preseason projections. It’s not the best way to do it, but that is usually how it goes, with exceptions often made for a team expected to do well having an extraordinary season. This year is closer to the latter, though that might be over-stating it a bit, but Mihalich was a relatively easy choice. The Pride were picked third, and one thing that the regular season lived up to that was predicted was that there would be a clear separation between the top three teams and the next group, so it’s not like this was a team from whom nothing was expected. They won the regular season title outright, set a school record for regular season wins (25) and at one point had the nation’s longest winning streak, and that is a big reason Mihalich should take this honor home.
Sixth Man of the Year: Sheldon Eberhardt, Elon
This is the one award in the conference that is voted on where the finalists are nominated and the selection must be one of those nominated. Among the options, Eberhardt gets a slight nod over Zeb Jasper (College of Charleston), Jalen Ray (Hofstra), Tomas Murphy (Northeastern) and Tobias Howard (Towson). This choice was far from a slam dunk, as a reasonable case could be made for any of the five. He was just behind Howard in scoring among the nominees, but also averaged over three boards and three assists per game as one of the key seniors for the Phoenix.
First Team
Jarrell Brantley, College of Charleston
Nathan Knight, William & Mary
Vasa Pusica, Northeastern
Grant Riller, College of Charleston
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
Brantley is closing out a fine career as one of the conference’s best players, as he is fourth in scoring, sixth in rebounding, fifth in steals and blocked shots and shot nearly 52 percent from the field. Knight is third in scoring, fifth in rebounding, shooting 58.5 percent from the field (tied for second) and led the conference in blocked shots to anchor the Tribe. Pusica missed a few non-conference games due to injury as well as a CAA game due to illness, but led the way for the Huskies once again as he is fifth in scoring and fourth in assists. Riller had a stellar year that built on what he did his first two seasons, and in many other years might win Player of the Year honors. Instead, that honor should go to Wright-Foreman, who led Hofstra to the regular season title as the nation’s second-leading scorer.
Second Team
Devontae Cacok, UNCW
Eric Carter, Delaware
Donnell Gresham Jr., Northeastern
Stuckey Mosley, James Madison
Eli Pemberton, Hofstra
Cacok is second in the nation in rebounding and averages just under 15 points a night for the Seahawks while making 58.5 percent of his shots. Carter led the improved Blue Hens by nearly averaging a double-double and being a presence at both ends of the floor. Gresham did a lot of things for Northeastern, especially when Pusica was out during non-conference play and as last season’s Defensive Player of the Year Shawn Occeus played in just 11 games due to injuries and personal matters. Mosley has been the best player for an improved James Madison team and is in the top ten in scoring, and he has been better in CAA play. Pemberton really came into his own this year and has come on especially strong in CAA play and the latter part of the season to help Hofstra to the regular season title.
Third Team
Desure Buie, Hofstra
Brian Fobbs, Towson
Justin Pierce, William & Mary
Jordan Roland, Northeastern
Tyler Seibring, Elon
Buie shined at both ends for Hofstra as the conference leader in steals and the third-leading assist man, complementing Wright-Foreman and Pemberton. Fobbs was sixth in the conference in scoring and just outside the top 10 in rebounding to lead Towson. Pierce had a big year as the complement to Knight for the Tribe that included being third in rebounding, fifth in assists and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio. Roland was a big offensive star for Northeastern, one of three on the team to shoot 40 percent from long range, and he had a few big games along the way. Seibring had a quietly solid year for Elon, finishing eight in scoring and shooting a little under 42 percent from deep.
All-Rookie Team
Chase Audige, William & Mary
Ithiel Horton, Delaware
Deshon Parker, James Madison
Kai Toews, UNCW
Camren Wynter, Drexel
This was a pretty good crop in terms of immediate impact, though as usual, the ultimate judgment on the class is a few years away. Audige helped William & Mary as a complement to stars Knight and Pierce. Horton helped Delaware at times surprise some people and has a bright future. Parker showed a lot of promise as one more young player on the Dukes after they had a few who came in a year ago. Toews led the conference in assists and will be a key part of UNCW’s building on this season. Wynter had a solid inaugural campaign, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he were to take home the top rookie award.
All-Defensive Team
Jarrell Brantley, College of Charleston
Desure Buie, Hofstra
Nathan Knight, William & Mary
Jacquil Taylor, Hofstra
Dennis Tunstall, Towson
Brantley was a big presence on one of the conference’s best defensive teams, finishing just outside the top five in rebounding while coming in fifth in both blocked shots and steals. Buie led the conference in steals to key the Pride’s defense, which forced more turnovers than any other team. Knight shined at that end of the floor for William & Mary as the conference leader in blocked shots and the fifth-leading rebounder. Taylor was the inside complement to Buie and helped make up for the loss of a rebounding machine, as he was second in the conference in blocked shots and fourth in rebounding, coming in third in the latter category in conference games only. Tunstall was a big presence for the Tigers, who led the conference in field goal percentage defense.
