KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today the 2016-17 NABC Division I All-District teams and coaches. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division I, these student-athletes and coaches represent the finest basketball players and coaches across America. Ten American Athletic Conference men's basketball players were voted All-District 25, while SMU head coach Tim Jankovich collected District 25 Coach of the Year accolades.
On the District 25 First Team were Cincinnati teammates Kyle Washington and Troy Caupain, UConn's Jalen Adams, Dedric Lawson of Memphis, and SMU forward Semi Ojeleye.
Ojeleye, the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, averaged 19.0 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 48.7 percent overall and 42.4 percent from 3-point range (3rd AAC). His 665 points rank third in a season at SMU. He had 10 or more points in 34 of 35 games, including the last 27, and recorded 20 or more points in 13 contests. He had eight or more rebounds 14 times, and had six double-doubles. Ojeleye was also named American Scholar-Athlete of the Year, CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, American All-Tournament Most Outstanding Player, All-American Athletic Conference First Team and USBWA All-District VII.
Adams led the Huskies in scoring and assists for the 2016-17 season, starting 32 games for UConn this season. He averaged a team-leading 14.3 points per game and 6.1 assists per game, which led the American Conference and ranked 10
th in the country. Adams also averaged 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and shot a team-leading .828 from the free throw line.
Lawson was an American Athletic Conference First Team selection, after leading the Conference in rebounds per game (9.9), and leading the team with a 19.2 point per game average. In all, he had 614 points, 317 rebounds, 105 assists, 68 blocked shots, and 41 steals, and became just the second NCAA Division I player since 1992-93 to have seasons of 600+ points, 300+ rebounds, 100+ assists, and 65+ blocked shots.
Caupain and Washington helped lead Cincinnati to a 30-6 season, with both earning Second Team All-American Athletic Conference honors in the process. Caupain set the Cincinnati career assists record, finishing with 515 in his career while taking the Bearcats to their seventh straight NCAA Tournament and averaging 10.5 points and 4.4 assists per game. Washington hit 51 percent of his attempts from the field this year, ranking fifth in The American while averaging 12.9 ppg.
Two of Ojeleye's teammates -- Shake Milton and Sterling Brown -- were voted to the Distict 25 Second Team. The Houston duo of Damyean Dotson and Rob Gray, along with Cincinnati sophomore Jacob Evans, rounded out the team.
Of the 10 American players selected, seven have eligibility to return to their teams in 2017-18. Caupain, Brown and Dotson were the only seniors selected.
Jankovich guided No. 11/13 SMU (30-5) to the American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles en route to the NCAA Tournament. The 30 wins set a program record, including a 17-1 mark in conference play and an 18-0 home record. The Mustangs had winning streaks of 10 games and 16 games in a stretch that saw SMU win 26 of 27. In addition to being one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year, Jankovich was named The American Coach of the Year and the USBWA District Coach of the Year.
District 25
First Team
Dedric Lawson, Memphis
Semi Ojeleye, SMU
Kyle Washington, Cincinnati
Jalen Adams, Connecticut
Troy Caupain, Cincinnati
Second Team
Damyean Dotson, Houston
Shake Milton, SMU
Sterling Brown, SMU
Rob Gray, Houston
Jacob Evans, Cincinnati
About the National Association of Basketball Coaches
Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men’s basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today’s student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com.