Marshall Basketball Announces 2001 Team Awards

4/20/2001

Huntington, WV- Marshall basketball head coach Greg White presented J.R. VanHoose with the Walt Walowac Most Outstanding Player Award on Thursday, April 19, at the 2001 Marshall University Men's Basketball Banquet in the Don Morris Room of the Marshall Memorial Student Center.

VanHoose, a junior center, averaged 16.6 points and a Mid-American Conference best 11.1 rebounds per game. The Paintsville, KY, native also tallied 20 double-doubles on the season, good for 2nd in the nation. VanHoose, who carries a 3.60 GPA while majoring in history and minoring in sociology, also picked up the Neal B. "Whitey" Wilson Student Athlete Award given annually to the top student on the squad. The First-Team All-MAC selection claimed the team's Hal Greer Field Goal Percent Award by hitting on 57.8% of his shots this season, and the Charlie Slack Rebounding Award. His 11.1 rebounds per game weren't just tops in the MAC, but also ranked him 3rd in the nation.

Cornelius Jackson, one of the five departing seniors, was awarded the Leo Byrd Thoroughbred Award. The Oak Hill, WV, native also won the Mike D'Antoni Playmaker Award thanks to his team-best 155 assists on the season. Jackson finished his career at Marshall with 518 assists, the fourth most in school history.

Fellow senior Travis Young picked up the team's Most Improved Player Award. Young, a Zanesville, OH, native, suffered a strained foot in the middle of the season and was sidelined for seven games, but bounced back to earn Honorable-Mention All-MAC. Young, a four-year starter, finished his career with 1,277 points, 349 assists, 173 steals and 163 3-point field goals.

Joda Burgess, another senior, was presented with the Keith Veney 3-point Field Goal Percentage Award. The Kenova, WV, native hit on 36.4% of his 3-point field goal attempts this season. For his career, Burgess knocked down 210 3-pointers to rank second in school history, including a career-best eight against Buffalo this season.

Sean Wuller, a senior from Belleville, IL, was awarded the Cebe Price Most Courageous Award. Wuller missed playing time this season to attend to his fiance Holly Jackson, who was diagnosed in February with Hodgkins lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes.

Junior Tamar Slay rounded out the awards by picking up the three statistical awards. Slay earned the Russell Lee Leading Scorer Award by pouring in a team-best 17.3 points per game this season. The Beckley, WV, native also ran away with the Jeff Battle Steals Award with his team-leading 39 steals. Finally, Slay knocked down the George Stone Free Throw Percentage Award by converting on 81.6% of his free throws (102-of-125).

The Special Team Awards presented to players were voted on by the players, the coaching staff and the team's managers.

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Statistical Awards
Hal Greer FG% Award - J.R. VanHoose (57.8%)
George Stone FT% Award - Tamar Slay (81.6%)
Mike D'Antoni Playmaker Award - Cornelius Jackson (155)
Russell Lee Leading Scorer Award - Tamar Slay (17.3)
Jeff Battle Steals Award - Tamar Slay (39)
Charlie Slack Rebounding Award - J.R. VanHoose (11.1)
Keith Veney 3-point FG% Award - Joda Burgess (36.4%)


Special Team Awards
Leo Byrd Thoroughbred Award - Cornelius Jackson
Cebe Price Most Courageous Award - Sean Wuller
Most Improved Player Award - Travis Young
Neal B. "White" Wilson Student Athlete Award - J.R. VanHoose
Walt Walowac Most Outstanding Player Award - J.R. VanHoose