Men’s Basketball Highlights All-Conference Honors

WEST POINT, Ga. (Feb. 21, 2023) - The Appalachian Athletic Conference announced all-conference awards ahead of the conference tournament, which will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 22, and end on Saturday, Feb. 25. Multiple players on the men’s basketball team received honors in the following categories: AAC Second Team All-Conference, All-Defensive Team, Defensive Player of the Year, Champions of Character and All-Academic Team. 

AAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team: Javier Turner 

Turner proved to be an intimidating force in the paint on both ends of the court as he dominated with many post moves, dunks, and rim protection on the defensive end. Jay Turner is not a guy you would want to try to shoot over, as his long wingspan to go with his 6’11 height is why he recently broke the school record in blocks (9) against Truett McConnell on Jan. 17. Turner finished with 7.0 PPG, 5.1 Rebounds, and 2.1 Blocks per game. He can now add being a Defensive Player of the year and All-Defensive Team to his stacked resume at Point. 

AAC Second Team All-Conference: RJ Selman 

RJ Selman is a three-level scorer who can be a go-to guy to get a bucket in crunch time. Selman is a player who will give it his all each play, and his skills as a combo guard showed as he led the team in scoring this season. Selman finished 13.0 PPG, 2.9 Assists per game, and 0.9 steals per game. Selman could be the two guard that will score by any means possible or switch to the point and get the offense rolling while still being a productive player on both ends. Recently, Selman surpassed 1,000 points in his collegiate career, which was a big honor. As a guard in a tough league of the AAC, he can also add being an All-conference to his resume. 

AAC Second Team All-Conference, All-Defensive Team: Jake Smith 

Jake Smith is the true definition of a floor general that can get his guys going at any moment. Smith came into this season with big expectations as a leader on this team and was willing to do whatever to help the team add wins on the board. Jake Smith finished with 8.1 PPG, led the team with 8.0 Rebounds, and led with 6.0 assists. He had multiple games where he finished with double-doubles and triple-doubles. An example was when he put up 18 Points, 11 Assists, and nine rebounds against CIU, which resulted in him winning the AAC Player of the Week award. Smith still has high hopes for the ahead of the tournament and is looking to help add some jewelry by contributing in any way possible. 

Champions of Character Award: Theaplais Williams 

Theo Williams is a man of honor who supports his teammates on and off the court. He truly wants to see his guys shine and is willing to help them in any way he can. Williams also added excitement to this team with his work ethic on the boards, slam dunks, and stretching the floor with threes. Head Coach, Jake Deer is about bringing in players willing to buy in and do things the right way, which shows credit to Williams’ character as he displayed the five core values. 

AAC All-Academic Team 

Micah Fallin 

Jack Gray 

Alvaro Mendez 

Sam Rees 

Benjamin Ross 

Kenton Steele