Chris Zona 03/09/10
Davis led Rams with 10.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in 2009-10
LONGWOOD, Va. – Winston-Salem State University junior forward Paul Davis
has been named to the All-Independent Men’s Basketball Second-Team as
announced on Tuesday evening. Davis led the Rams with 10.9 points and
7.8 rebounds per game and was chosen as one of the 10 best Independent
Conference players in the nation in voting by both the Independent head
coaches and sports information directors. This year’s Independent
schools include CSU Bakersfield, Longwood, North Carolina Central,
Savannah State, Seattle, SIU Edwardsville, and Winston-Salem State.Davis appeared in all 29 games for the Rams and was one of only four WSSU players to do so. He started 24 games for the Rams including the final 24 contests of the season en route to scoring a team-high 317 points as he led the Rams in scoring with 10.9 points per game.
The junior forward from Clio, S.C. hit 129 of his 224 field goal attempts for a team-leading 57.6 percent shooting and recorded a team-leading 42 dunks. Davis hit 59 of his 114 free throws (51.8 percent), pulled down a team-leading 226 rebounds and led the team with 7.8 rebounds per game.
Davis collected 87 offensive boards and 139 defensive rebounds in addition to adding 10 assists, recording 50 blocks and averaging 1.7 blocks per game. Davis, WSSU’s all-time leader in blocked shots also recorded 22 steals.
Davis turned in a stellar season for the Rams and recorded a career-high 32 points at MEAC-leading Morgan State on Feb. 13. He led the team in scoring 12 times, led the team in rebounding 19 times and recorded 18 double-figure scoring performances. He also recorded eight double-figure rebounding performances and turned in seven double-doubles en route to Second-Team All-Independent honors.
Seattle University forward Charles Garcia has been selected as Player of the Year, Seattle head coach Cameron Dollar is the Coach of the Year, and North Carolina Central University guard C.J. Wilkerson was picked as the Newcomer of the Year.
Garcia, a 6-10 junior from Los Angeles, California, averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 47% from the field and 62% at the free throw line during his only season with the program. He led the Redhawks to a 17-14 record while posting season-highs of 41 points against Wofford, and 16 rebounds against Cal Poly, with 11 double-doubles as well. Garcia announced yesterday his intention to declare for the NBA Draft at the conclusion of the season as Seattle hopes to earn a berth in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), or the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
Dollar led Seattle to the 17-14 record, including road wins at Utah, Oregon State, Portland State, San Jose State, and UC Davis along with home wins past Fresno State, Weber State, Cal State Northridge, and UC Irvine. The Redhawks enjoyed their fifth-straight winning season overall, though the first winning record while playing a full Division I schedule for the first time. Dollar was in his first year as he took over the program last April (2009).
Wilkerson, a 6-3 junior from Oxford, North Carolina, averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while shooting 39% from the field, including 36% on three-point field goals (42), and 77% at the free throw line during his first season with the program. He led North Carolina Central to a 7-22 record while posting 20-plus points 11 times, including a season-high of 30 points against The Apprentice School. Wilkerson was named MVP of the B.C. Powder Classic with 53 points in two games, both homecourt victories by the Eagles.
Garcia and Wilkerson were joined on the All-Independent 1st-Team by Longwood senior Dana Smith, SIU Edwardsville sophomore Mark Yelovich, and Longwood sophomore Antwan Carter. Smith averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists for the Lancers (12-19). Yelovich averaged 16.7 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Cougars (5-23). Carter averaged 14.6 points and an Independent-best 8.5 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field for Longwood.
The All-Independent 2nd-Team includes Trent Blakley of CSU Bakersfield (15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds), Cervante Burrell of Seattle (11.4 points, 3.5 assists), Rashad Hassan of Savannah State (11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds), Paul Davis of Winston-Salem State (10.9 points, 7.8 rebounds), and Santwon Latunde of CSU Bakersfield (10.7 points, 7.8 rebounds).