2019-20 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team
INDIANAPOLIS – At Findlay’s Winebrenner auditorium, the coaches’ selections were announced with the unveiling of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball All-Conference Team on Thursday night.
The final four teams of the Great Midwest Championship bracket, No. 2 Findlay, No. 3 Walsh, No. 5 Kentucky Wesleyan and No. 8 Malone, all gathered for the annual banquet.
Each coach spoke regarding their program’s success and mentioned highlights from the current season as they get ready to compete in the tournament semifinals tomorrow.
A total of 10 selections were made in the voting for the first team, 10 additional names were listed on the second team and the all-defensive team consisted of five more stalwarts.
The individual award winners were also recognized and the declaration of two regular season co-champions was also finalized. Hillsdale and Findlay both had a record of 15-3 (.833) during the regular season to each take home their own conference trophy.
Lake Erie senior guard Gabe Kynard was billed with the ultimate top honor as the Great Midwest Player of the Year. Also a CoSIDA Academic All-District Team selection, Kynard paced all players in scoring (20.3 ppg) and averaged almost six rebounds and over three assists per game.
Kynard helped the Storm earn the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament and he also finished second in the conference in steals (1.6 spg).
Hillsdale’s elastic forward Patrick Cartier was picked by the coaches as the Great Midwest Freshman of the Year. Cartier doesn’t miss much at all when he shoots, leading the conference in field goal percentage (.647).
Cartier helped Hillsdale to a share of the regular season title and the top total in the Point Rating System for the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. He averaged 16.1 points per game, ninth in the league, and was a two-time selection as Great Midwest Player of the Week.
Tharp was a runaway choice amongst his peers for Great Midwest Coach of the Year. He guided Hillsdale to a tough upset win to close out the regular season and secure the No. 1 seed for his program in the conference tourney. The Chargers also endured major injuries late in the regular season before their postseason run.
Findlay junior guard Tommy Schmock made his way to the stage multiple times as a first team all-conference selection and an all-defensive team pick. Schmock, the league leader in assists and steals, has been a major part of Findlay’s success over his career and a part of all three UF regular season title rosters since joining the league.
Cartier and sophomore Branden Maughmer of Cedarville were the youngest representatives on the all-conference first team, the only underclassmen. Maughmer was also a double award winner on the all-defensive team.
Each program in the semifinals had student-athletes honored in person tonight including Malone’s Jaret Majestic (first team) and Marcus Ernst (second team), Kentucky Wesleyan’s Adam Goetz (first team), Walsh’s Darryl Straughter (first team), JT Shumate (second team), Caleb Canter (all-defensive team) and Findlay’s Schmock and Nathan Bruns (second team).