Doug McDermott; Echenique Take Top MVC Men's Basketball Honors
2/28/2012 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Two members of the Creighton men's basketball team made history on Tuesday as the Missouri Valley Conference awarded its postseason honors. Bluejay forward Doug McDermott became the first sophomore in league history to be named Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year, while teammate Gregory Echenique is Creighton's first honoree as MVC Defensive Player of the Year.
McDermott repeated as a first-team all-MVC pick for the second straight year and Echenique was one of five men on the MVC's All-Defensive team for the second straight campaign. In addition, Creighton senior Antoine Young was named second-team all-MVC for the second straight year, while Grant Gibbs landed a spot on The Valley's All-Newcomer team.
McDermott leads The Valley and ranks third nationally with 23.1 points per game and is also ranked second in the conference in both rebounding (8.1 rpg.) and three-point percentage (.479). McDermott's five MVC Player of the Week accolades were the most by any individual in a season in 25 years, and the only sophomores in league history with more points in a season are Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird. McDermott is the first Creighton player named MVC Player of the Year since Booker Woodfox in 2009, and fifth different Bluejay overall. McDermott also becomes the first men's basketball player in league history to win the triple crown of MVC Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Year in a career.
Echenique is the first player in Creighton history to be named MVC Defensive Player of the Year. Echenique leads the MVC with 49 blocked shots this season and is second with 1.6 blocks per game. He's also fifth in the MVC with 7.4 rebounds per contest, and second with 61.2 percent shooting from the field. In league play, Echenique led the MVC with 1.7 blocks per game and 2.8 offensive rebounds per game, while also ranking second in rebounds per game (8.2) and field goal percentage (.630), fifth in defensive rebounds per contest (5.3) and 10th in free throw percentage.
Young ranks second in the MVC in assist/turnover ratio (2.4), fourth in assists per game (4.5) and 15th in points per game (12.3). A three-year starter at point guard, he ranks third in school history in assists (483) and 19th in school history in points (1,287).
A Gonzaga transfer in his first season on the court with Creighton, Gibbs ranked second in the MVC in assists per game (5.4) and was third in assist/turnover ratio (2.4). He's started all 29 games for the Bluejays and averages 6.9 points per contest and a team-best 1.1 steals per game.
On Thursday in St. Louis, the MVC will name its Coach of the Year.
No. 25 Creighton (25-5) earned the second seed at the State Farm MVC Tournament and will play in a 6 pm quarterfinal game on Friday against the winner of Thursday night's Drake-Bradley tilt.
2012 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Team
First Team Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown
Doug McDermott, Creighton So. F 6-7 Ames (Iowa) High
Joe Ragland, Wichita State Sr. G 6-0 W. Springfield (Mass.) North Platte (Neb.) JC
Colt Ryan, Evansville Jr. G/F 6-5 Batesville (Ind.) High
Garrett Stutz, Wichita State Sr. C 7-0 Kansas City (Mo.) North Kansas City High
Kyle Weems, Missouri State Sr. F 6-6 Topeka (Kan.) Highland Park High
Second Team
Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State Jr. F 6-9 Manhattan (Kan.) South Kent Prep
Jake Odum, Indiana State So. G 6-4 Terre Haute (Ind.) South Vigo High
Rayvonte Rice, Drake So. G 6-4 Champaign (Ill.) Centennial High
Ben Simons, Drake Jr. F 6-8 Cadillac (Mich.) High
Antoine Young, Creighton Sr. G 6-0 Bellevue (Neb.) West High
Honorable-Mention Selections
Taylor Brown, Bradley Sr. F 6-6 Atlanta (Ga.) Dunwoody High / Bevill State C.C.
Denver Holmes, Evansville Sr. F/G 6-4 Olathe (Kan.) Olathe South High
Anthony James, UNI Jr. G 6-0 St. Louis (Mo.) Normandy High
Toure' Murry, Wichita State Sr. G 6-5 Houston (Texas) Klein Forest High
Mamadou Seck, S. Illinois Sr. F 6-7 Dakar (Senegal) UCAD / Southeastern Ill.
All-Newcomer Team
Tyler Brown, Illinois State Jr. G 6-4 Owensboro (Ky.) Apollo / Marshalltown C.C.
Anthony Downing, Missouri St. Jr. G 6-0 Atchison (Kan.) High / Independence CC
Grant Gibbs, Creighton Jr. G 6-4 Marion (Iowa) Linn-Mar High / Gonzaga
Carl Hall, Wichita State Jr. F 6-8 Cochran (Ga.) Northwest Florida State
Seth Tuttle, UNI Fr. F 6-8 Sheffield (Iowa) West Fork High
All-Freshman Team
Dantiel Daniels, S. Illinois F 6-6 Wentzville (Mo.) High
Deon Mitchell, UNI G 6-1 Pflugerville (Texas) High
Nic Moore, Illinois State G 5-9 Winona Lake (Ind.) Warsaw High
Ryan Sawvell, Evansville F/C 6-8 Mundelein (Ill.) High
Seth Tuttle, UNI F 6-8 Sheffield (Iowa) West Fork High
All-Defensive Team
Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State Jr. F 6-9 Manhattan (Kan.) South Kent Prep
Gregory Echenique, Creighton Jr. C 6-9 Guatire (Venezuela) St. Benedict's (N.J.) HS
Toure' Murry, Wichita State Sr. G 6-5 Houston (Texas) Klein Forest High
Ben Smith, Wichita State Sr. F 6-5 Oklahoma City (Okla.) Northern Okla. - Enid
Troy Taylor, Evansville Jr. G 6-0 Anderson (Ind.) High
