Bellarmine, UIndy, USI Garner Major GLVC Men’s Basketball Awards

3/1/2017 12:00:00 AM

Jeff Smith, Associate Commissioner

Tweet #GLVCmbb

INDIANAPOLIS – University of Southern Indiana senior guard Jeril Taylor has been named the 2016-17 Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year in men’s basketball, it was announced by the Conference office on Wednesday.  Bellarmine University senior guard Al Davis took home GLVC Defensive Player of the Year honors, while University of Indianapolis guard Tate Hall garnered the GLVC Freshman of the Year award.  Bellarmine mentor Scott Davenport was recognized by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year.  In addition, 20 student-athletes were picked as All-Conference honorees, 13 representatives were named to the league’s All-Defensive Team, six individuals were named to the league’s first-ever All-Freshman Team, and 16 honorees were recognized as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award recipients.

Taylor finished the regular season tied for first in the GLVC in scoring (20.3 ppg), third in rebounding (8.3 rpg), seventh in steals (1.63 spg).  The Louisville, Kentucky product was a four-time GLVC Player of the Week honoree this season and was recognized last month as the Division II Bulletin Player of the Month for January.  Taylor, who was also the lone unanimous selection to the All-GLVC First Team, recorded seven double-doubles on the season and a triple-double against Bluefield State College, in which he posted 15 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.  The highlight of the season came Jan. 12 when Taylor netted a school-record 50 points on 13-of-15 shooting, with nine rebounds and six assists in a 111-89 win at Truman State.  His 35 points in the first half set a new school record, while his 9-for-9 performance from beyond the arc tied a school record.  Taylor is the 10th Screaming Eagle to earn the league’s top honor and the first since Aaron Nelson shared the annual accolade with Truman State’s Mike Carlson in 2013-14. 

Davis is the second consecutive Bellarmine standout to earn GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, as the award was first given to George Suggs following the 2015-16 campaign.  The Colorado Springs, Colorado native ranked fifth in the GLVC in steals per game (1.79).  Davis, who joined University of Wisconsin-Parkside junior guard Kendale McCullum as the only unanimous selections to the All-Defensive Team, helped the Knights to the league’s top field-goal and percentage defense (41.2), which ranks 23rd nationally, and the nation’s third-best three-point field goal percentage defense (42.9). 

Hall was voted by the coaches as the league’s top newcomer following his first season on campus.  The Greenfield, Indiana product is the third UIndy standout to earn GLVC Freshman of the Year honors and the first Greyhound to be recognized since Matt Britton in 1996-97.  Hall averaged 10.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game over 27 contests this year, while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor. 

Davenport takes home his third GLVC Coach of the Year accolade, as he previously was honored following the 2010-11 season prior to sharing the award with former University of Missouri-St. Louis head coach Steve Tappmeyer in 2011-12.  The Davenport-led Knights earned the GLVC East Division title with a 17-1 league record and have compiled a 25-3 mark overall and the top seed in this week’s Deaconess GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament.  No. 4 Bellarmine, which currently owns the nation’s top field-goal percentage (53.7) and third-best three-point field-goal percentage (42.9), saw five standouts honored with postseason awards, including Davis and first-team All-GLVC selections Adam Eberhard and Rusty Troutman.  Additionally, Alex Cook and Ben Weyer were named to the inaugural All-Freshman Team, which included six individuals due to a tie in the voting.    

The league also recognized its annual GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.  These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.

A complete list of the 2016-17 GLVC All-Conference teams and postseason honors follows.

 

GLVC Player of the Year:  Jeril Taylor, Sr., G, USI GLVC Defensive Player of the Year:  Al Davis, Sr., G, BU GLVC Freshman of the Year:  Tate Hall, Fr., G, UINDY GLVC Coach of the Year:  Scott Davenport, BU

First-Team All-Conference Adam Eberhard, So., F, BU Rusty Troutman, Sr., G, BU Miles Simelton, Sr., G, LEWIS Evan McGaughey, Sr., F, QU Joseph Tagarelli, Sr., F, QU Alex Stein, So., G, USI Jeril Taylor, Sr., G, USI # Cory Myers, Sr., SG/PG, TSU Alexander Brown, Sr., G, UWP Kendale McCullum, Jr., G, UWP # Unanimous selections

Second-Team All-Conference Tevin Foster, Jr., G, DU Eric Davidson, Jr., G, UINDY Jesse Kempson, So., F, UINDY Jimmy King, So., G, UINDY Delaney Blaylock, So., G, LEWIS Von Washington, III, Sr., G, QU CJ Hardaway, So., PG, SJC Connor Erickson, Sr., C, TSU Jake Velky, So., SG, TSU Patrick Whelan, Jr., G, WJC   * Extra member(s) due to tie

All-Defensive Team* Al Davis, Sr., G, BU # John Williams, So., G, DU Ajay Lawton, Jr., G, UINDY Frank Vukaj, So., C, LEWIS Rokas Paulauskas, Sr., C, S&T Juwan Miller, Jr., G, S&T Elijah Watson, Jr., G, UMSL Kindred Williams, Jr., G, SJC Grant Meyer, Sr., G, QU Cortez Macklin, Sr., G, USI Kendale McCullum, Jr., G, UWP # Goran Zagorac, Jr., C, UWP Patrick Whelan, Jr., G, WJC

All-Freshman Team* Alex Cook, G, BU Ben Weyer, F, BU Isaac Johnson, G, DU Tate Hall, G, UINDY Anthony D’Avanzo, F, LEWIS Joe Borcia, C, UWP

 
2016-17 James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award Nominees (Men’s Basketball)
Rusty Troutman, BU
John Williams, DU
Vince Walker, UIS
Jimmy King, UINDY
Capel Henshaw, LEWIS
Evan Booker, MU
Michael Jackson, MCK
Jacob Bergman, S&T
DJ White, UMSL
Evan McGaughey, QU
Connor Evans, RU
Nick Jeffirs, SJC
Alex Stein, USI
Cory Myers, TSU
Chavares Flanigan, UWP
Patrick Whelan, WJC