2015-16 G-MAC All-Conference Men's Basketball Team
GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball All-Conference Team was officially revealed in advance of the G-MAC Championship starting on Thursday.
A total of 16 different G-MAC student-athletes were recognized to either the first, second or all-freshman conference teams.
Voting for the 2015-16 G-MAC Men’s Basketball All-Conference Team was completed by the league’s head coaches.
The G-MAC will recognize individual award winners and the all-conference performers participating prior to tip-off Thursday’s quarterfinals and Friday’s semifinals in Owensboro, Ky.
Regular-season champion, top seed and tournament host Kentucky Wesleyan, had four starters (Ken-Jah Bosley, Jordan Jacks, C.J. Blackwell, Devin Langford) selected to lead all teams.
Byron Sanford of Trevecca Nazarene was voted as the G-MAC Player of the Year, Kevin Simpson of Davis & Elkins was named the G-MAC Freshman of the Year and Kentucky Wesleyan’s Happy Osborne was tabbed the G-MAC Coach of the Year.
G-MAC Player of the Year
Byron Sanford – Trevecca Nazarene – G
Sanford is the consummate gym rat and simply fills up the box score in all categories when he steps on the floor. The senior guard had the Trojans in contention for the top seed in the postseason when TNU was locked in a three-way tie for first during the latter part of the regular season.
Sanford’s numbers say it all as he comprised one of the G-MAC’s most formidable and efficient backcourts with Jalen Palm.
The 6-0 standout from Louisville, Ky., was the league leader in steals (1.8) and points (534) and ranked third in scoring (19.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg).
He was also second in assists (4.2), ninth in field goal percentage (.495) and free throw percentage (.693) while averaging 34 minutes per game.
Sanford enters the postseason after having compiled seven double-doubles and was a two-time G-MAC Athlete of the Week in the regular season. He netted a season-best 32 points vs. Cedarville on Jan. 2.
Career wise, Sanford is the G-MAC’s second all-time leading scorer (1,306 points) and is tied for first in field goals made with Kentucky Wesleyan’s Bosley (937). He’s the conference’s current all-time leader in assists (302) and is third in rebounding (511).
G-MAC Freshman of the Year
Kevin Simpson – Davis & Elkins – G
Simpson helped pioneer the Senators back into the playoffs after a brief absence from the postseason in 2014-15. He was turned over the keys to brand new offense by first-year head coach Nick Patella and simply excelled as a rookie.
Hailing from Fort Washington, Md., Simpson served as the facilitator while also aggressively hunting his own shot at an efficient rate.
Simpson helped lead his team to 11 wins and five in the conference; after analyzing the season results the win totals could be more if a few close finishes would have went D&E’s way.
He was the G-MAC Athlete of the Week early in his career and played 35.5 minutes per contest -- second in the league. The amount of time he spent on the court speaks volumes of the trust the coaching staff had him to perform and take care of the ball.
Simpson tied for 11th in the league in scoring (13.4 ppg) and was seventh in assists (3.5 apg) and three-point field goals made (1.9). He was also second in free throw percentage (.814).
G-MAC Coach of the Year
Happy Osborne – Kentucky Wesleyan
Osborne has imported talent from all levels and molded the 2015-16 Panthers into a powerhouse of a program in Owensboro, Ky.
The Panthers enter the postseason arguably as one of the hottest teams in the country, ranked ninth in the NABC Top-25 Poll, ninth in the Midwest Region rankings and on a current 10-game win streak.
Osborne’s squad locked up home court advantage with a couple games to spare in the regular season as they ran roughshod through the league with an 11-1 record.
With a 25-3 overall record, KWC is one of eight schools around the country to have 25 wins or more.
Osborne’s Panthers led the league in scoring (84.9 ppg) and defense (67.3 ppg) and were an unblemished 17-0 at home in the Owensboro Sportscenter.
He has compiled 69 wins in three seasons in the G-MAC (22 each in 2013-14, 2014-15; 25 in 2015-16) and is an impressive 33-7 in conference games.