Marshall University Athletics
Taylor Honored as Herd Basketball Most Outstanding
4/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Ryan Taylor, Marshall's redshirt sophomore who was an All-Conference USA third team selection, was named winner of the Hal Greer Most Outstanding Player Award on Saturday night at the Herd Men's Basketball Banquet.
Taylor, who led Marshall with averages of 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds, was one of four honorees with special awards following Coach Dan D'Antoni's first season on the sidelines at his alma mater.
About 200 attended the banquet, held at 21 @ the Frederick in downtown Huntington.
The Mike D'Antoni Mr. Marshall Award was presented to redshirt sophomore guard Austin Loop, while junior shooting guard Justin Edmonds earned the Bob Allen Most Improved Player honor. Senior post man Cheikh Sane won the Charlie Slack "Toughman" Award.
A look at the top honors:
Hal Greer Most Outstanding Player -- Ryan Taylor, 6-6, r-So., F -- Award is named for Basketball Hall of Famer Greer, a Herd legend from the 1950s ... Taylor, an Indianapolis native, started all 32 games and led the Herd with averages of 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds ... Taylor ranked second in Conference USA in rebounding and 13th in scoring. He also averaged 2.8 assists per game as a `point forward" in Herd offense ... Shot .698 at the free throw stripe ... Matched career-scoring high with 25 in victory over WVU Tech ... Career rebounding of 18 came in loss at No. 7 Louisville in November, tying for high in C-USA this season ... Posted 13 double-doubles to lead all C-USA players ... Was C-USA All-Freshman Team pick in 2013-14.
Mike D'Antoni "Mr. Marshall" Award -- Austin Loop, 6-6, r-So., G -- Award named for former Herd point guard and brother of Coach D'Antoni goes to the player who best excels on and off the court with emphasis on strong play and commitment to academics ... Loop, from South Webster, Ohio, averaged 11.3 points (second on team), and his 84 three-point goals ranked No. 2 in C-USA this season ... Scoring high was 26 points in January loss to Charlotte ... Averaged team-best 32.3 minutes per game ... His .887 free throw percentage (63-of-71) would have ranked as tops in the league, but he was 17 made FTs short of NCAA qualifying standard (2.5 per game played) ... Former walk-on, earned scholarship for a second time at Marshall ... Named to 2014-15 C-USA All-Academic Team (five players) with his 3.60 GPA in clinical exercise physiology/biomechanics ... Was Marshall's selection for C-USA Spirit of Service Award for Winter ... Named to C-USA Honor Roll for 2014-15 (3.0 or above cumulative GPA).
Bob Allen Most Improved Player Award -- Justin Edmonds, 6-4, r-Jr., G -- Award named for No. 4 rebounder in Herd history ... Edmonds, an Albion, Mich., native, coming off multiple knee surgeries and emerged as a starter early in the season ... Averaged 9.8 points per game, with 54 three-pointers ... Led the Herd to a late-season Henderson Center win over Florida Atlantic with career-high 27 points, going 9-of-11 from the floor ... Had six assists in December loss to West Virginia, his second start ... Scored in double figures 15 times ... Suffered another knee injury in regular-season finale at Charlotte and missed C-USA Tournament.
Charlie Slack "Toughman" Award -- Cheikh Sane, 6-9, Sr., C -- Award named for Marshall's career rebounding leader and one of the top rebounders in NCAA major college history ... Sane, of Dakar, Senegal, averaged 4.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in the post, starting 19 of 32 games for the Herd ... Had career highs of 16 points (Jacksonville State in November) and 16 rebounds (WVU Tech in November) ... Had double-figure rebounds and double-figure points in two other games ... Played 17.9 minutes per game ... Came to Marshall in 2013-14 as a junior college transfer from Snow College in Utah.
---HerdZone.com---
