Men's Basketball Holds End-of-Year Banquet
5/1/2011 1:31:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - In a night to celebrate the accomplishments of the Georgia Southern Men's Basketball team, the program held its 2011 end-of-season banquet on Saturday night, April 30th, at the Bishop Field House on the campus of Georgia Southern University. Four individual honors were presented to members of the team and seniors Rory Spencer and Johntavious Rucker thanked for their contributions to the program.
Georgia Southern's top scorer, Ben Drayton (St. Marys, Ga.), picked up Offensive Player of the Year honors, while the Eagles' leading shot-blocker, Rory Spencer, was named Defensive Player of the Year. Marvin Baynham was selected to receive the Coaches Award and GSU honored Cameron Baskerville with the Student-Athlete Award.
Drayton, a junior combo guard, was named Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Eagles in scoring in 2010-2011. He scored 15.8 points per game and reached the 1,000 career points milestone against Chattanooga on February 3rd. Against Wofford (Feb. 12th), Drayton dropped a career-high 31 points en route to earning consensus second-team All-SoCon honors.
"I'm happy for Ben that he's receiving this award," said Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "He is a young man for whom I have the utmost respect because win-lose-or-draw, he plays every game like it is his last."
Defensive Player of the Year honors were awarded to senior Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.). The Eagle forward set the single-season Georgia Southern blocks record in 2009-10 and added 35 to his career numbers this season for fourth on the career blocks list. He was a contributor on offense as well with 9.4 points per game.
"I'm extremely happy for Rory," said Young. "In two seasons, he has become one of the best all-time shot blockers in program history. At 6-8, he was a defensive presence with the shots that he blocked and also with the ones he altered."
Freshman Marvin Baynham (Miami, Fla.) improved throughout the season and was presented with the Coaches Award. In the last four games of the season, Baynham averaged 7.5 points per game, including a career-high 13 in the Southern Conference Tournament against Appalachian State. He posted a double-double against College of Charleston (December 4th) with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
"Marvin is also a young man who embodies what our program is about," said Young. "He is a winner in every aspect of the word. He is a young man, who whether it is on the court, off the court, in the weight room, wherever, he always represents Georgia Southern Basketball in a first-class manner."
As the top Eagle in the classroom, Cameron Baskerville (Marietta, Ga.) earned the Student-Athlete Award. Majoring in Sport Management with a minor in Business Administration, Baskerville balanced hard work in the classroom with solid play on the hardwood. He scored 100 points for the Eagles in 2010-11 and started nine games. Baskerville had a career-night against Texas Tech with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
"I'm so proud of Cameron Baskerville for what he's done on the court and in the classroom," said Young. "He is a tremendously bright young man who is going to be successful in life with-or-without basketball."
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