Hinnant Earns C-USA All-Freshman Team Honors
March 07, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2006
IRVING, Texas - 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.
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.
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. 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.
