MEAC ANNOUNCES ITS 2009 ALL

MEAC ANNOUNCES ITS 2009 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
Patricia Porter 03/09/09

Eagles' McKee Named Player of the Year

Winston-Salem, N.C., March 9, 2009 – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2009 all-conference teams Monday evening at the Tip-Off Banquet held at the M.C. Benton Jr. Convention Center. Coppin State’s Tywain McKee earned the 2009 MEAC Player of Year award, as voted by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors. Todd Bozeman of Morgan State was named the MEAC Coach of the Year, as voted by his peers. Clifford Reed of Bethune-Cookman, was named as the 2009 MEAC Rookie of the Year, while South Carolina State’s Jason Johnson garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Tywain McKee, the second best scorer in the MEAC, led his team in scoring (18.2), rebounding (5.7), assists (4.0) and steals (2.9). Throughout his career, McKee has earned MEAC Rookie of the Year honors, Preseason Player of the Year accolades, and was named the most outstanding performer following last year’s MEAC Tournament win. The senior recently became the school’s all-time leading scorer and holds the MEAC tournament record for points with 93.

Todd Bozeman guided the Morgan State Bears to a 13-3 conference record and 20-11 overall mark. In his third year at the helm, Bozeman’s Bears recorded top non-conference wins over Maryland and DePaul and are currently ranked 23rd in Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Morgan State, who earned back-to-back regular season championship titles, has won the most Division I games in school history and will enter tournament play as the number one seed.

Cliff Reed, a 6-3 guard, led his team with 14.6 points per game and earned a rookie and player of the week accolade this season. He has led the MEAC in minutes played all season while averaging 39 minutes per game. The conference’s seventh leading scorer, Reed has recorded double digits in 27 of 31 games and averages 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals.

Jason Johnson becomes the conference’s third Defensive Player of the Year honoree. A two-time Defensive Player of the Week recipient, Johnson leads the conference with seven double-doubles and is second in the MEAC with the most double-digit rebounding outings this season at 12. He currently leads the MEAC in rebounds with 8.5 boards per game and shoots a conference high 62-percent from the field, which ranks third in the nation.

McKee was joined on the 2009 MEAC First Team by Jason Johnson (South Carolina State), Reggie Holmes (Morgan State), Michael Deloach (Norfolk State) and Eugene Myatt (Howard).

The 2009 MEAC Second Team featured Clifford J. Reed (Bethune-Cookman), Vincent Simpson (Hampton), Jason Flager (South Carolina State), Corey Lyons (Norfolk State), Neal Pitt (Maryland E. Shore), and Marquise Kately (Morgan State).
The 2009 MEAC Rookie Team included Reed (Bethune-Cookman), Michael Harper (Coppin State), Jimmy Williams (South Carolina State), Keishawn Mayes (Maryland E. Shore) and Kevin Thompson (Morgan State).

The 2009 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips-off on Tuesday, March 10-14, at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC. Hampton will face Delaware State in the first men’s match-up beginning at 6:30 p.m. followed by Florida A&M versus Howard at 9 p.m.