2020-21 Great Midwest Men's Basketball All-Conference Team
INDIANAPOLIS – Prior to the start of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship semifinals Friday evening, the coaches' selections for the 2020-21 all-conference team and individual awards were announced on Thursday afternoon.
The awards are traditionally announced during the championship banquet reserved for the final four remaining teams in the bracket, but was not conducted this year due to COVID-19 protocols.
The all-conference team is comprised of (10) on the first team, (10) on the second team and (5) more on the all-defensive team. Additionally, coach, player and freshman of the year, honors were also decided by the coaches' vote.
Conference tournament top seed and regular season champion Hillsdale placed all five starters on the all-conference team, including forwards Patrick Cartier and Austen Yarian on the first team, guard Connor Hill and forward Davis Larson on the second team and forward Tavon Brown as a member of the all-defensive team.
The Chargers head into Friday's semifinals round ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region rankings and winners of 17 straight.
Six of the 10 on the first team were of senior classification and those student-athletes still have the option of returning for another year if they choose. Findlay's Tommy Schmock, the conference's all-time leader in assists and steals, was a repeat selection on the first team and all-defensive team. The same went for Cedarville's Branden Maughmer as a two-way standout.
Walsh's Darryl Straughter was also part of a deep guard group that the coaches took into consideration along with Malone's Bryce Butler (33 pt. game vs. Findlay) and Kentucky Wesleyan's Tre Cobbs.
Malone's surge down the stretch of the regular season helped the Pioneers land a trio of selections on the first team. In addition to Butler, double-double machine Marcus Ernst was honored along with sharpshooting teammate Bo Myers. Ernst (15.5 ppg) and Myers (16.2 ppg) were both top 10 scorers in the conference and Ernst was also the league leader in rebounds (9.4).
Findlay's Nathan Bruns took the next step forward in his own development after earning all-conference second team status in 2019-20. The bruising forward was named first team after almost averaging 15 points per game for the nationally-ranked Oilers.
Looking at the second team, it was a list of more talented guards taking up eight of the 10 spots. Both Cedarville and Kentucky Wesleyan had a pair of honorees with Kollin Van Horn and Quentin Green and Wyatt Battaile and Zach Hopewell.
Findlay's Anthony Masterlasco contributed plenty of highlight reel dunks to help the Oilers secure the No. 2 seed in the postseason. Tiffin's Trent Williams, just a sophomore, was a major bright spot for the Dragons ranking 11th in the league in scoring. Ohio Valley's Keon Claiborne helped the Fighting Scots score a playoff berth and was fourth in the conference among all scorers over 17 ppg. RS sophomore guard Christian Montague gives Walsh one of the most deadly guard tandems in the country after averaging over 13 ppg in year two.
Walsh's Caleb Canter was also a lock as a repeat selection to the conference all-defensive team.
Chosen the 2020-21 Great Midwest Player of the Year, Hillsdale's Cartier has simply imposed his will on the conference in just his second year of competition after capturing Great Midwest Freshman of the Year honors as a rookie. The 6-8 forward has been conference player of the week five times this year and was also chosen as the USBWA National Player of the Week.
Cartier was the league leader in points per game (20.4 ppg) and field goal percentage (.647). He is coming off of a 22-point effort in Hillsdale's quarterfinal game on Tuesday against Trevecca Nazarene.
Cartier was also top 15 in rebounds and averaged close to 32 minutes per contest. By the coaches ballot, he was the consensus overall selection by receiving all possible votes for his work in the regular season.
The Chargers are closing in on an NCAA Tournament bid thanks to the work of head coach John Tharp and his staff. Tharp was a repeat selection as Great Midwest Coach of the Year, one season removed from sharing the regular season conference title with Findlay and earning the No. 1 seed in the championship tournament.
Hillsdale was only a half-court buzzer beater away from an unblemished season and have withstood every test during a 17-game win streak going into Friday night on its home floor.
The Great Midwest Freshman of the Year was Ohio Dominican's Zach Szul. The Panthers fought hard down the stretch of the regular season to vie for a playoff spot but after averaging 13.2 ppg, the future is certainly bright. Szul, out of Waterville, Ohio, and Anthony Wayne HS played in 19 games while shooting almost 46 percent from the field overall and beyond the arc. Szul and ODU's leading scorer Sean Marks are still underclassmen for head coach Kelly Winter going into 2021-22.