Men's Basketball Recognizes 2009-10 Contributions
4/15/2010 1:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - In looking back on the past men's basketball season, Georgia Southern Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young saw a promising future. The Georgia Southern Men's Basketball team gathered its basketball family, fans, administration and support staff Wednesday night for the 2009-10 year-end banquet, thanking everyone for their contributions to the program.
"Tonight, it was really great to have our basketball family together one last time before the end of the semester," said first-year Eagles' Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "Even though our record wasn't what we hoped it would be, this past year was a success. These young men provided a solid foundation for the program's future."
Forward Cameron Baskerville was honored with the team's Student-Athlete award. Baskerville, who started 11 games as a true freshman, earned a 3.3 grade point average. The Marietta, Ga., native played in 29 games, missing only three games due to injury.
On senior night in Hanner Fieldhouse, guard Antonio Hanson racked up a team season- and career-best 39 points against Elon, becoming the first Eagle to eclipse the 30-point mark since 2007. Hanson, who scored 86 points over the final three games in the regular season and led the Eagles in scoring 10 times last year, was recognized as the Offensive Player of the Year. The Fort Worth, Texas, native had 100 three-point field goals in his second season with the Eagles for 183 total, good for fifth on the career list.
Junior forward Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) not only led the Southern Conference with an average of 1.9 blocked shots per game, his average earned a national ranking of 56th. Spencer's 62 blocked shots for the 2009-10 season also gave him solo ownership of the University's single-season record. Spencer, who was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the Eagles, averaged 5.7 rebounds during the last 11 games with 4.1 of those boards coming on the defensive glass.
All-Southern Conference selection and junior guard Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) was recognized as the Team's Most Valuable Player Wednesday night. Ranked as the Eagles' top scorer and assists leader, Powers averaged 14.7 (6th SoCon) points and 5.5 assists (1st SoCon) per game. He recorded 27 double-figure scoring games, including 13 straight, to go along with two double-doubles during the 2009-2010 season. Leading the team in one of many second-half surges, Powers scored six points of his 19 points in the final 68 seconds to propel the Eagles to a victory over The Citadel in the largest comeback in Georgia Southern men's basketball history.
Powers was also awarded the Dr. Marvin S. Pittman Free Throw Award, an honor inaugurated following the 1954-55 season for the individual with the best free throw percentage. The Eagles' coaching staff reinstated the award and "Voice of the Eagles" Chris Blair presented it to Powers for his team-best 79.9 free throw percentage this season (6th SoCon).
Recognized for his work ethic and dedication, Jeb Brannen (Register, Ga.) was honored with the Coaches Award. A sophomore walk-on, Brannen was part of the Eagles' "energy squad" with the purpose of giving the team a spark at the start of the second half.
The Eagles open the 2010-11 season at Notre Dame in the Joyce Center on November 12th.
