Maynor CAA Player of the Year

News from the CAA Awards Banquet: VCU junior guard Eric Maynor (pictured above being defended by the entire ODU team) was selected as the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media. The announcement was made Thursday night at […]

March 6, 2008; 11:44 PM • by FTRea

News from the CAA Awards Banquet:

VCU junior guard Eric Maynor (pictured above being defended by the entire ODU team) was selected as the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media. The announcement was made Thursday night at the league’s pre-tournament awards banquet in Richmond, Va.

Also receiving top honors were William and Mary’s Tony Shaver as the CAA Coach of the Year, Hofstra freshman guard Charles Jenkins as the CAA Rookie of the Year, Old Dominion senior guard Brandon Johnson as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and UNC Wilmington senior Todd Hendley as the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.

Maynor was the floor general for a VCU squad that posted a 23-6 overall record and captured its second straight CAA regular-season title. The junior point guard ranked second in the conference in scoring with 17.8 points per game and dished out a league-best 5.3 assists per contest. Maynor tallied double digits in 26 of the Rams’ 29 games, including the last 13 in a row, and topped the 20-point mark 12 times. He was also among the top 10 in the CAA in field goal (46.3%), free throw (77.6%) and 3-point percentage (40.7%).

Shaver guided William and Mary to its second-most CAA victories in school history with a 10-8 mark. Picked to finish ninth in the league’s pre-season poll, the Tribe exceeded expectations by placing fifth, which was its best conference finish since 2001. W&M reeled off nine conference victories in a 10-game stretch from January 5 to February 6, which included four triumphs on the road.

Jenkins had a sensational freshman campaign, ranking 10th in the CAA in scoring with 15.1 points per game. The 6-foot-3 guard tallied double digits in 26 of his last 27 games, including the final 14 in a row.

Johnson completed an excellent career at Old Dominion in record-setting fashion. The senior guard led the CAA and ranked seventh nationally with 2.8 steals per game, and his 86 thefts were the second-highest total in league history.

Hendley ranked 18th in the conference in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (4.9 rpg) and shot an impressive 55.8% from the floor. The Ehlers Award is presented annually to the men’s basketball student-athlete who “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.”

Joining Maynor on the All-CAA first team were Hofstra senior guard Antoine Agudio, UNC Wilmington senior guard T.J. Carter, VCU senior guard Jamal Shuler and George Mason senior forward Will Thomas.

Agudio led the CAA and ranked 12th in the nation in scoring this season with 22.5 points per game. The senior netted 20 or more points in 16 of his 26 games and topped the 30-point mark six times. Agudio broke Hofstra’s all-time scoring record that had stood for 43 years and ranks fourth in CAA history with 2,249 points.

Carter showed no ill effects from missing last season due to hernia surgery, ranking among the CAA’s top 15 in scoring (16.2 ppg/4th), rebounding (5.7 apg/13th) and assists (4.3 apg/5th). Carter was also the CAA’s most accurate free throw shooter at 85.9%, and made a school-record 37 consecutive attempts from the charity stripe.

Shuler earned first-team All-CAA honors in his first year as a starter for VCU. The senior guard was the league’s ninth-leading scorer with 15.6 points per game, reaching double figures in 23 of 29 contests. He drained a team-high 68 three-pointers and shot nearly 41% from beyond the arc. Shuler was also outstanding defensively and led the team with 47 steals.

Thomas capped an outstanding career by making the All-CAA first team for the first time. The senior forward led the league with 10.4 rebounds per game and was sixth in scoring with 16.0 points per contest. He recorded a league-high 14 double-doubles, with nine of them coming in conference play.

– The information above was provided by the CAA’s Rob Washburn. Photo by F.T. Rea

March 6, 2008 11:44 PM 0