The ASUN regular season has concluded with the conference tournament beginning on Thursday. The conference office will be handing out the postseason awards in the coming days. Before they do, here is who would get ASOR’s vote:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Darius McGhee, Liberty
Two weeks ago, McGhee was probably in third place, at best, in the race for conference player of the year, but he has had an unbelievable finish to the regular season the past few weeks. Over the past four games, McGhee is averaging 27.25 points per game as he has surpassed 20 points in all four games and set his career-high twice. In Saturday’s game for the ASUN regular season title, McGhee staked his claim with 34 points. In the past four games, he has made 38 of 65 field goals (58.5%) and 27 of 45 from three (60%). For the season, McGhee is averaging 15.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while making 41.4% of his threes.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Elijah Cuffee, Liberty
Cuffee was the preseason defensive player of the year for the conference, and he should get the nod at the end of the season. He’s been the top perimeter defender on the top defensive team in the past two seasons, routinely getting the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top offensive player.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Scott Davenport, Bellarmine
The job Davenport has done in Bellarmine’s first season in the conference and at the Division I level has been nothing short of impressive. The Knights won 10 straight conference games before losing Saturday’s regular season finale as they were sitting in first place for much of the last half of the regular season.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Dontarius James, Jacksonville
The transfer from Xavier is one of the more talented players in the conference, and if he were on a team that competed in the top half of the standings he would be a lock for first-team all-conference. The 6’8″ forward leads the ASUN in scoring at 17.5 points per game to go along with 4.3 rebounds per game.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Chase Johnston, Stetson
Johnston is a redshirt-freshman who spent his first semester in college at Fort Wayne before transferring last January to Stetson. The 6’2″ guard is one of the best shooters in the league as he is averaging 14.3 points per game and made 38.3% of his three point attempts.
FIRST-TEAM ALL-ASUN
Darius McGhee, Liberty
Pedro Bradshaw, Bellarmine
The 6’7″ forward was the favorite to win the ASUN Player of the Year award heading into the final two weeks of the season before Darius McGhee and Liberty went on an unreal stretch to close out the season. Bradshaw helped lead the Knights to a 2nd place finish in their first season in the conference and at the Division I level. Bradshaw is averaging 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while making 52.2% of his field goals.
Ahsan Asadullah, Lipscomb
The preseason choice as the conference’s player of the year on the preseason favorite to win the conference had a disappointing yet still strong season. Hands down the best big man in the ASUN, the 6’8″ Asadullah enters the ASUN Tournament averaging 14.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting 58.5% of his field goal attempts. His averages are down from his sophomore season a year ago when Asadullah averaged 18.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. The Bisons finished in 3rd place in the conference standings with a 906 mark in ASUN play.
Chris Parker, Liberty
Parker was a pleasant surprise for the Flames this season coming in as a grad transfer from Division II Henderson State. The 6’1″ point guard is averaging 10.1 points and 3.6 assists for the ASUN regular season champ Flames. He also saved his best for last as Parker scored a season-high 19 points and made all three of his three-pointers on Saturday as Liberty clinched the regular season title with a convincing win at Bellarmine.
Carter Hendricksen, North Florida
The Ospreys struggled through non-conference play, but much of that was due to Hendricksen being absent for much of the early season due to an injury. When the 6’7″ forward returned to the lineup, North Florida was able to contend in the top half of the conference standings on their way to a fourth place finish. Hendricksen is averaging 15.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
