BOSTON – The University of Vermont men's basketball team had three student-athletes earn All-America East honors on Thursday morning. The league announced its year-end award winners and All-Conference Teams.
RELATED LINKS
America East: Release | Award Listing
Tournament: Playoff Central
Voting was conducted by the league's head coaches who were not allowed to vote for their own players or themselves.
Ryan Davis was selected as the Kevin Roberson Player of the Year and landed on the All-Conference First Team.
Ben Shungu made the All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team.
Stef Smith joined Shungu on the All-Conference Second Team.
Davis averaged 18.8 points per game for the second-highest scoring average in the league and boasted the conference's top field-goal percentage at 57.8%. The 6-8 forward logged double figures in 11 out of his 12 games played including six 20-point outings. He scored a career-high 27 points against NJIT on December 28 and almost matched the total again with 25 points at Binghamton on January 9. The Schaumburg, Illinois product had three double-doubles and set a career best with 12 boards in a 61-57 win over Stony Brook on February 14. Davis was among the league's top rebounders with 6.8 rebounds per game. He's had a career year from outside after canning 41.5% of his attempts from three-point land.
Shungu earned his first career All-Conference Team nod and landed on the All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season. Shungu ranked third on the team with 10.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The South Burlington native hit the 20-point mark twice and went off for a career-high 21 points against UAlbany on January 3 after shooting 7-of-10 from the field. He paced the team with 47 assists and had seven games with at least three dimes. On the defensive end, Shungu led the team with 59 defensive rebounds and recorded 10 steals.
Smith collected his second straight All-Conference honor. The 6-2 sharp shooter sits second on the team behind Davis with 13.8 points per game. He was one of the top outside shooters in America East this season with a 38.3% three-point percentage, the fourth-highest clip in the league. Smith enters the postseason on a high streak after scoring at least 15 points in three out of his last four games with a pair of 20-point performances. In the UMBC series, he sank seven triples including six in a 70-61 victory last Thursday.
UVM is the fifth school in NCAA history to win the conference's Player of the Year award five years in a row – Texas Southern (SWAC, 2013-17), Gonzaga (WCC, 2001-06), Long Beach State (Big West, 1970-75), and Texas A&M (Southwest, 1960-66).
Vermont finished the regular season with a 10-4 record and earned a share of the regular season title for the fifth consecutive season. The Catamounts will be the No. 2 seed in the 2021 Hercules Tires America East Tournament and received a first-round bye to the semifinal round under the new format. The Green and Gold will host the highest-remaining seed on Saturday, March 6 at 4 p.m.. The contest will be streamed on either ESPN3 or ESPN+. Visit UVMathletics.com for further updates.
Key Motors of South Burlington is the presenting sponsor of the 2020-21 Vermont men's basketball season
2020-21 AMERICA EAST MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
Kevin Roberson Player of the Year: Ryan Davis, Vermont
Coach of the Year: Ryan Odom, UMBC
Defensive Player of the Year: Mouhamadou Gueye, Stony Brook
Sixth Man of the Year: Keondre Kennedy, UMBC
Rookie of the Year: Nick Johnson, New Hampshire
All-Conference First Team
Ryan Davis, Vermont, Jr., F
R.J. Eytle-Rock, UMBC, Jr., G
Brandon Horvath, UMBC, Sr., F
Jayden Martinez, New Hampshire, Fr., F
Obadiah Noel, UMass Lowell, Sr., G
All-Conference Second Team
Traci Carter, Hartford, Gr., G
Nick Guadarrama, New Hampshire, Jr., F
Antonio Rizzuto, UAlbany, Jr., G
Ben Shungu, Vermont, Sr., G
Stef Smith, Vermont, Sr., G
All-Conference Third Team
Zach Cooks, NJIT, Sr., G
Mouhamadou Gueye, Stony Brook, Sr., F
Brenton Mills, Binghamton, So., G
Juan Felix Rodriguez, Stony Brook, Jr., G
Austin Williams, Hartford, Sr., G
All-Defensive Team
Traci Carter, Gr., G, Hartford
Mouhamadou Gueye, Stony Brook, Sr., F
Antonio Rizzuto, UAlbany, Jr., G
Darnell Rogers, UMBC, Sr., G
Ben Shungu, Vermont, Sr., G
All-Rookie Team
Anthony Blunt, UMass Lowell, Fr., G
Max Brooks, UMass Lowell, Fr., F
Mekhi Gray, NJIT, Fr., G
Nick Johnson, New Hampshire, R-Fr., G
Blondeau Tchoukuiengno, New Hampshire, R-Fr., G
All-Academic Team
Stephane Ingo, Maine, Jr., 3.66 GPA, Finance and Mgt.
Chris Lester, New Hampshire, Gr., 3.79 GPA, Business Admin. – Finance
Adam Lulka, UAlbany, Fr., 4.00 GPA, Psychology
Hunter Marks, Hartford, Jr., 3.79 GPA, Entrepreneurial Studies
Dimirije Spasojevic, UMBC, Sr., 3.84 GPA, Sociology
