PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference announced four individual awards in advance of the 2018 Aaron’s American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, which runs March 8-11, in Orlando, Florida.
Cincinnati senior Gary Clark was voted the American Defensive Player of the Year, while also collecting the conference’s Sportsmanship Award. Clark was a unanimous first team all-conference pick on Monday. The senior is the first player in conference history to claim the defensive player of the year honor twice.
For the second straight year, a Tulane student-athlete was selected as The American’s Most Improved Player, as Melvin Frazier collected the accolade.
Houston’s Armoni Brooks was voted the Sixth Man of the Year in the conference, while Tulane collected The American’s Team Academic Excellence Award.
In his senior season, Clark has keyed No. 8 Cincinnati’s defense to an adjusted defensive efficiency rating that is among the 20 best in the 17-year history of the KenPom ratings. Clark’s 8.2 rebounds per game pace The American, while he ranks sixth in blocks (1.3 per game) seventh in steals (1.5). Earlier in the season, Clark became just the fifth player in Cincinnati history with over 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
Off the court, Clark was named the winner of Cincinnati’s prestigious Jean Stephens Award, which is given to the student-athlete who demonstrates a commitment to the team, department and the University; integrity and high ethical standards in all situations; respect for and the equitable treatment of others; friendship and positive attitude of others; friendship and a positive attitude in interpersonal relationships and being a consummate team player.
A Legion of Excellence honoree, Clark has logged more than 50 hours of community service in the Cincinnati community, spending time at such places as Our Daily Bread, the Sheakley Boys and Girls Club and the Friar's Club. Clark has also offered words of encouragement to hospitalized patients. During the summer of 2016, Clark interned directly with Dr. Robin Engel, who serves as UC's Vice President of Safety and Reform, working to positively impact campus safety.
Frazier joins teammate Cameron Reynolds as Tulane players to earn American individual honors over the last four years. After averaging 11.5 points per game as a sophomore, Frazier bumped his total to a team-leading 15.9 ppg, hitting 55.8 percent of his attempts to rank third in the conference. Frazier’s 10 games this season with at least 20 points rank fourth in the conference. The junior was named American player of the week for the first time in his career on Nov. 20.
Brooks has come off the bench in 29 of No. 21 Houston’s 30 games, averaging 10.2 ppg. On 16 occasions, Brooks came off the bench to score 10-plus points, including three games with 20 or more points. Brooks’ 43.4 percent field goal percentage from three-point range ranks fifth in The American.
Tulane earned the Team Academic Excellence Award for the first time in program history, joining Louisville (2014), UCF (2015) and Temple (2016, 2017). The accolade honors the conference team with the highest cumulative grade point average
The individual awards were voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches. The conference's Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year will be announced on Wednesday, March 7.
For more information on the American Men’s Basketball Championship, please visit championship central at
www.theamerican.org/mbb.
2018 American Athletic Conference Awards
Defensive Player of the Year
Gary Clark, Cincinnati
Most Improved Player
Melvin Frazier, Tulane
Sixth Man of the Year
Armoni Brooks, Houston
Sportsmanship Award
Gary Clark, Cincinnati
Team Academic Excellence Award
Tulane |