Memphis senior forward Rodney Carney has been named the Conference USA Player of the Year for the 2005-06 season, while Tiger head coach John Calipari has been named the Coach of the Year recipient for the first time in his C-USA career, as announced today in Memphis, site of the 2006 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship presented by Aeropostale.
Carney, who was picked to win the award prior to this year's campaign, was second in the league in scoring at 17.9 ppg and led all C-USA players with a school-record 88 made three pointers in the regular season. Carney will end his career as the all-time leader in three pointers made at Memphis as he enters this week's C-USA Championship with 273 treys. That is also currently the fourth-highest total in C-USA history.
In addition to being named First Team All-Conference USA this season, Carney has been named one of 10 finalists the Oscar Robertson Award and was named to the Wooden and Naismith Awards Midseason Top 30 Lists. Earlier this week, he was named a second team All-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and ESPN.com. Carney was named C-USA Player of the Week on three different occasions this season and earned All-Tournament honors at the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Calipari wins the award for the first time after leading Memphis (13-1 in Conference USA play) to its first outright regular season title since winning the Great Midwest Conference championship during the 1994-95 season. Memphis is among four schools in the nation that have a nation-leading 27 wins going into today's action (Connecticut, Duke and Gonzaga).
In his sixth season at the helm of the Tiger program, Calipari has produced a record of 142-58 (.710), which includes 49 wins over the last two seasons. With a mark of 27-3 overall this year and No. 3 ranking, Calipari is one of just five coaches nationally to lead a pair of teams to a Top 5 ranking (UMass -1996). The Tigers are the No.1 seed this week at the 2006 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship presented by Aeropostale and will face either No. 8 Tulane or No. 9 Marshall in their first game on Thursday at 6 p.m. CST.
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This marks only the third time in C-USA history that the Coach of the Year and the Player of the Year came from the same team. In 2003, Marquette's Tom Crean and Dwyane Wade earned both honors and in 2000, Cincinnati's Bob Huggins and Kenyon Martin both gained C-USA's top individual accolades.
2005-06 CONFERENCE USA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rodney Carney, Memphis, F, 6-7, 205, Sr., Indianapolis, Ind. (Northwest)
John Calipari, Memphis (Six seasons, 142-58)
After helping Memphis to its first outright Conference USA regular season title, the freshman duo of Shawne Williams and Chris Douglas-Roberts headline the 2006 Conference USA All-Freshman Team. The pair is joined by freshmen Courtney Beasley of Southern Miss, Sam Hinnant of East Carolina and Marshall's Markel Humphrey as voted by the league's 12 head coaches and select media. Williams was named the Freshman of the Year, while UAB senior Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson was awarded Defensive Player of the Year honors and Tulsa senior Anthony Price was selected as the Sixth Man of the Year.
Williams, who was the only freshman to earn 2006 All-Conference honors with his selection to the third team, was named the Freshman of the Year. The Memphis, Tenn., native was the Tigers' third leading scorer this season, averaging 13.0 ppg. Douglas-Roberts averaged 8.8 points during the regular season and tied for second on the team with 41 steals.
Beasley stepped up during conference play and enters the C-USA Tournament as the Golden Eagles' top scorer with an average of 10.9 points per game, and a team-best 41 steals. Hinnant became the fourth Pirate in East Carolina's five seasons in the league to earn All-Freshman honors. The rookie was the only other player besides Second Team All-Conference selection Corey Rouse to start all 27 games for East Carolina, ranking second on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game. Humphrey earned All-Freshman honors in the Thundering Herd's inaugural year in Conference USA, averaging 7.4 points in 29 minutes per game.
Johnson, who earned his first All-Conference USA recognition with a first team selection, was voted as the Defensive Player of the Year. The UAB senior leads Conference USA and is ranked in the Top 10 nationally for assists (6.37 per game) and steals (2.81). Johnson is also a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation's top point guard.
Tulsa senior Anthony Price was the only Golden Hurricane to receive conference honors with his selection as the C-USA Sixth Man of the Year. Price is the team's leading scorer (11.2 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (5.9 rpg), despite only making six starts in TU's 27 games this season.
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2005-06 ALL-CONFERENCE USA FRESHMAN TEAM
Courtney Beasley, Southern Miss, G, 6-3, 220, Fr., Huntsville, Ala.
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis, G, 6-5, 180, Fr., Detroit, Mich.
Sam Hinnant, East Carolina, G, 6-4, 195, Fr., Charlotte, N.C.
Markel Humphrey, Marshall, G, 6-5, 215, Fr., Stockbridge, Ga.
Shawne Williams, Memphis, F/G, 6-9, 205, Fr., Memphis, Tenn.
2005-06 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Shawne Williams, Memphis, F/G, 6-9, 205, Fr., Memphis, Tenn.
2005-06 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson, UAB, G, 5-10, 180, Sr., New Orleans, La.
2005-06 SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Anthony Price, Tulsa, C, 6-8, 225, Sr., The Woodlands, Texas
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