Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Blue Raider trio receive C-USA specialty awards
3/7/2017 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Williams, Upshaw and Dixon bring in more honors for MT
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Three more awards rolled in for the regular season champion Blue Raiders on Tuesday as the Conference USA office announced specialty award recipients and members of the All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams.
Middle Tennessee senior JaCorey Williams, a first team All-C-USA selection on Monday, was voted the league's Newcomer of the Year.
In his lone season as a Blue Raider Williams has logged 544 points – good for 10th all-time in a single season at MT – while leading Conference USA's No. 1 seed in scoring (17.5) and rebounding (7.4).
The Birmingham native logged double-digit points in 28 games this season while topping the 20-point mark 11 times and notching a team-high 11 double-doubles.
"The redshirt year last season was probably the very best year of his basketball life," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "He improved so much as a player, gained about 12 to 15 pounds and worked unbelievably hard in the weight room. Even away from practice he spent a ton of time individually working out with [assistant coach] Ronnie Hamilton.
"Then just inside out as a person, he became a great leader, a great teammate and a great competitor. I don't know if there is any first-year player in the country that has affected a team more than JaCorey Williams."
Reggie Upshaw earned a spot on the All-Defensive team, his first appearance on the list after earning his second All-C-USA recognition Monday when he was named to the league's second team. The senior leads a Blue Raider defensive unit that holds opponents to 63.1 points per game, ranking second in the league and 20th in the country.
Upshaw – who is becoming regarded as one of the best to ever don the Blue Raider uniform – has swatted a team-high 27 shots on the year while logging 36 steals, just three shy of the team high. The Chattanooga native is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, 67 percent of which have come on the defensive glass.
"We're one of the very best defensive teams in our league and one of the best in the nation," Davis stated. "Obviously Reggie is a huge part of that. He leads us in blocks and almost does in steals. He's done a great job guarding multiple positions this year and is very deserving of the honor."
First-year point guard Tyrik Dixon has been selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman team after breaking into the starting lineup before his first campaign even began. The Blue Raider rookie started 29 of Middle Tennessee's 31 contests on the year, playing over 25 minutes per game and just shy of 30 in league play.
The Bentonville, Ark., native averaged 6.2 points, 3.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game in his freshman campaign and upped those numbers to 8.1 points, 3.9 assist and 3.6 boards in league play while boasting a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio (71-to-22) in 18 league games.
"Tyrik is really very deservingof making the All-Freshman team," Davis said. "He has made a ton of improvement since June. His assist-to-turnover ratio in league play is about 3.2 and he's shooting over 50 percent from the field and 3-point range. He has run our team and the biggest thing is that he's got such great toughness and makes really good decisions and good plays down the stretch."
Conference USA announces its final two awards of the 2016-17 season – Coach of the Year and Player of the Year – on Wednesday to kick off the C-USA Tournament.
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech, G, 5-10, 170, Baltimore, Maryland
Jalen Harris, Louisiana Tech, G, 6-4, 190, Duncanville, Texas
Tyrik Dixon, Middle Tennessee, G, 6-1, 183, Bentonville, Arkansas
A.J. Lawson, North Texas, G, 6-5, 190, Bryan, Texas
Byron Frohnen, UTSA, G, 6-5, 205, Las Vegas, Nevada
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech, G, 5-10, 170, Baltimore, Maryland
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM (*repeat selection)
Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech, Jr., G, 6-6, 175, St. Petersburg, Florida
Ryan Taylor, Marshall, Sr., F, 6-5, 249, Indianapolis, Indiana
Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee, Sr., F, 6-8, 228, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Denzell Taylor, Old Dominion, Sr., F, 6-7, 220, Brampton, Ontario
William Lee, UAB, Jr., F, 6-9, 210, Plantersville, Alabama
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
William Lee, UAB, Jr., F, 6-9, 210, Plantersville, Alabama
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee, Sr., F, 6-8, 220, Birmingham, Alabama
2015-16 CONFERENCE USA SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Zoran Talley, Old Dominion, So., F, 6-7, 200, Merrillville, Indiana
Middle Tennessee senior JaCorey Williams, a first team All-C-USA selection on Monday, was voted the league's Newcomer of the Year.
In his lone season as a Blue Raider Williams has logged 544 points – good for 10th all-time in a single season at MT – while leading Conference USA's No. 1 seed in scoring (17.5) and rebounding (7.4).
The Birmingham native logged double-digit points in 28 games this season while topping the 20-point mark 11 times and notching a team-high 11 double-doubles.
"The redshirt year last season was probably the very best year of his basketball life," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "He improved so much as a player, gained about 12 to 15 pounds and worked unbelievably hard in the weight room. Even away from practice he spent a ton of time individually working out with [assistant coach] Ronnie Hamilton.
"Then just inside out as a person, he became a great leader, a great teammate and a great competitor. I don't know if there is any first-year player in the country that has affected a team more than JaCorey Williams."
Reggie Upshaw earned a spot on the All-Defensive team, his first appearance on the list after earning his second All-C-USA recognition Monday when he was named to the league's second team. The senior leads a Blue Raider defensive unit that holds opponents to 63.1 points per game, ranking second in the league and 20th in the country.
Upshaw – who is becoming regarded as one of the best to ever don the Blue Raider uniform – has swatted a team-high 27 shots on the year while logging 36 steals, just three shy of the team high. The Chattanooga native is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, 67 percent of which have come on the defensive glass.
"We're one of the very best defensive teams in our league and one of the best in the nation," Davis stated. "Obviously Reggie is a huge part of that. He leads us in blocks and almost does in steals. He's done a great job guarding multiple positions this year and is very deserving of the honor."
First-year point guard Tyrik Dixon has been selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman team after breaking into the starting lineup before his first campaign even began. The Blue Raider rookie started 29 of Middle Tennessee's 31 contests on the year, playing over 25 minutes per game and just shy of 30 in league play.
The Bentonville, Ark., native averaged 6.2 points, 3.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game in his freshman campaign and upped those numbers to 8.1 points, 3.9 assist and 3.6 boards in league play while boasting a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio (71-to-22) in 18 league games.
"Tyrik is really very deservingof making the All-Freshman team," Davis said. "He has made a ton of improvement since June. His assist-to-turnover ratio in league play is about 3.2 and he's shooting over 50 percent from the field and 3-point range. He has run our team and the biggest thing is that he's got such great toughness and makes really good decisions and good plays down the stretch."
Conference USA announces its final two awards of the 2016-17 season – Coach of the Year and Player of the Year – on Wednesday to kick off the C-USA Tournament.
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech, G, 5-10, 170, Baltimore, Maryland
Jalen Harris, Louisiana Tech, G, 6-4, 190, Duncanville, Texas
Tyrik Dixon, Middle Tennessee, G, 6-1, 183, Bentonville, Arkansas
A.J. Lawson, North Texas, G, 6-5, 190, Bryan, Texas
Byron Frohnen, UTSA, G, 6-5, 205, Las Vegas, Nevada
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech, G, 5-10, 170, Baltimore, Maryland
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM (*repeat selection)
Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech, Jr., G, 6-6, 175, St. Petersburg, Florida
Ryan Taylor, Marshall, Sr., F, 6-5, 249, Indianapolis, Indiana
Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee, Sr., F, 6-8, 228, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Denzell Taylor, Old Dominion, Sr., F, 6-7, 220, Brampton, Ontario
William Lee, UAB, Jr., F, 6-9, 210, Plantersville, Alabama
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
William Lee, UAB, Jr., F, 6-9, 210, Plantersville, Alabama
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee, Sr., F, 6-8, 220, Birmingham, Alabama
2015-16 CONFERENCE USA SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Zoran Talley, Old Dominion, So., F, 6-7, 200, Merrillville, Indiana
Players Mentioned
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