Brown, Wade Named Co-MVPs at Year-End Banquet
Apr 03, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Brown, Wade Named Co-MVPs at Year-End Banquet
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Juniors Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade each received three team awards, including a share of the Rolando Blackman Most Valuable Player Award, as Kansas State celebrated the accomplishments of its Elite Eight team at the annual men's basketball banquet Tuesday night at the Hilton Garden Inn.
In addition to their MVP awards, Brown was selected as the Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player for the second consecutive season and Wade was named the Tex Winter Top Offensive Player, while they shared the Mitch Richmond Mr. Basketball Award.
An All-Big 12 Second Team selection and a member of the Big 12's All-Defensive Team, Brown had a career-best season as a junior in 2017-18, averaging 15.9 points on 44.8 percent shooting (203-of-453), including 31.8 percent (42-of-132) from 3-point range, to go with 3.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 34.7 minutes per game. The team leader in double-digit scoring games (29), 20-point games (11), assists (120) and steals (67), he became the first Wildcat to post 500 points, 100 rebounds, 100 assists and 50 steals in a single season.
Despite missing the last five games of the season due to injury, Wade put together one of the most impressive all-around efforts in K-State history, as he ranked first or second in 12 statistical categories, including scoring (16.2 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (28), 20-point games (11), double-doubles (four) and rebounding (6.2 rpg.). He was even better in Big 12 play, averaging 18.8 points on 55 percent shooting (127-of-231), including 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from 3-point range, with only Oklahoma's Trae Young scoring more points in league-only games.
Wade became just the fourth Wildcat to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team and joined Michael Beasley (2008) and Jacob Pullen (2010) to do it as undergraduates, while Brown became just the fifth Wildcat to be named to one of the Big 12's First, Second or Third Teams as well as the All-Defensive Team in the same season.
Fellow junior Kamau Stokes picked up two awards, winning the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery "Never Broken" Award and sharing the Bob Boozer Courage Award with freshman Levi Stockard III. The "Never Broken" Award is given annually to commemorate the team's partnership with the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery unit at Fort Riley.
Stokes dealt with plenty of adversity, starting the first 15 games before breaking his foot at Texas Tech on Jan. 6 and missing seven games before returning as a reserve at West Virginia on Feb. 3. He saved his best for last, starting the five games due to an injury to Wade, including all four NCAA Tournament games. He averaged 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the Wildcats' run to the Elite Eight, including a 13-point effort in the first-round win over Creighton and an 11-point effort in the loss to Loyola Chicago in the regional final.
Other award winners included senior Mason Schoen (Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player), sophomores Makol Mawien (Dean Harris Newcomer of the Year), Pierson McAtee (Keith Amerson Academic Award) and Xavier Sneed (Ernie Barrett Play Hard Award), redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra (Ed Nealy Most Improved Player Award) and Stockard (Bob Boozer Courage Award).
Schoen won the Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player Award, which is the program's oldest award and honors the longtime K-State Athletics Trainer from 1950-80. As the team's lone senior, Schoen served as the team's emotional leader while completing a second undergraduate degree in marketing as well as taking credits towards an MBA and earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors.
A sophomore transfer from New Mexico Junior College, Mawien was selected as the Dean Harris Newcomer of the Year after averaging 6.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game. One of just three Wildcats to start all 37 games, he scored in double figures in four of his last seven games, including a career-best 29-point effort against Kansas in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
Sneed earned the Ernie Barrett Play Hard Award, which goes annually to the single-season leader on the Wayne McClain Play Hard Chart and tracks deflections/blocks, steals, dives, loose balls, offensive rebounds and charges. The team's deep threat with 65 3-pointers on the season, he ranked third on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting to go with 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.4 minutes per game. He scored in double figures in 22 games, including four 20-point outings.
Diarra was selected as the winner of the Ed Nealy Most Improved Player Award after the redshirt freshman was thrust into the starting lineup just three games into Big 12 play due to the Stokes' injury. He started the final 22 games, averaging 7.1 points on 46.9 percent shooting, including 40.5 percent from 3-point range, to go with 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 23.8 minutes per game.
McAtee was selected as the winner of the Keith Amerson Academic Award after earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors this past season. A walk-on who saw action in 10 games, he has been a member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll each semester he has been on the team.
A true freshman from St. Louis, Stockard shared the Bob Boozer Courage Award with Stokes after playing in 36 of 37 games this past season. Although he averaged just 1.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, he played a pivotal role in a number of wins, including road victories at Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and Texas and the quarterfinal win over TCU at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
K-State concluded its record-setting 2017-18 season with a 25-12 overall record and the school's 12th Elite Eight appearance. It was just the sixth 25-win season and the first since a 27-win campaign in 2012-13. Overall, the Wildcats have now advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times in the last 12 seasons, including four times in coach Bruce Weber's six seasons. The squad is expected to return all but two players, including all five starters.
2017-18 Kansas State Men's Basketball Team Awards:
Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Award: Mason Schoen
Rolando Blackman Most Valuable Player Award: Barry Brown, Jr./Dean Wade
Tex Winter Top Offensive Player Award: Dean Wade
Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player Award: Barry Brown, Jr.
Dean Harris Newcomer of the Year Award: Makol Mawien
Ernie Barrett Play Hard Award: Xavier Sneed
Ed Nealy Most Improved Award: Cartier Diarra
Mitch Richmond Mr. Basketball Award: Barry Brown, Jr./Dean Wade
Bob Boozer Courage Award: Kamau Stokes/Levi Stockard III
1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery "Never Broken" Award: Kamau Stokes
Keith Amerson Academic Award: Pierson McAtee
In addition to their MVP awards, Brown was selected as the Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player for the second consecutive season and Wade was named the Tex Winter Top Offensive Player, while they shared the Mitch Richmond Mr. Basketball Award.
An All-Big 12 Second Team selection and a member of the Big 12's All-Defensive Team, Brown had a career-best season as a junior in 2017-18, averaging 15.9 points on 44.8 percent shooting (203-of-453), including 31.8 percent (42-of-132) from 3-point range, to go with 3.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 34.7 minutes per game. The team leader in double-digit scoring games (29), 20-point games (11), assists (120) and steals (67), he became the first Wildcat to post 500 points, 100 rebounds, 100 assists and 50 steals in a single season.
Despite missing the last five games of the season due to injury, Wade put together one of the most impressive all-around efforts in K-State history, as he ranked first or second in 12 statistical categories, including scoring (16.2 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (28), 20-point games (11), double-doubles (four) and rebounding (6.2 rpg.). He was even better in Big 12 play, averaging 18.8 points on 55 percent shooting (127-of-231), including 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from 3-point range, with only Oklahoma's Trae Young scoring more points in league-only games.
Wade became just the fourth Wildcat to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team and joined Michael Beasley (2008) and Jacob Pullen (2010) to do it as undergraduates, while Brown became just the fifth Wildcat to be named to one of the Big 12's First, Second or Third Teams as well as the All-Defensive Team in the same season.
Fellow junior Kamau Stokes picked up two awards, winning the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery "Never Broken" Award and sharing the Bob Boozer Courage Award with freshman Levi Stockard III. The "Never Broken" Award is given annually to commemorate the team's partnership with the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery unit at Fort Riley.
Stokes dealt with plenty of adversity, starting the first 15 games before breaking his foot at Texas Tech on Jan. 6 and missing seven games before returning as a reserve at West Virginia on Feb. 3. He saved his best for last, starting the five games due to an injury to Wade, including all four NCAA Tournament games. He averaged 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the Wildcats' run to the Elite Eight, including a 13-point effort in the first-round win over Creighton and an 11-point effort in the loss to Loyola Chicago in the regional final.
Other award winners included senior Mason Schoen (Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player), sophomores Makol Mawien (Dean Harris Newcomer of the Year), Pierson McAtee (Keith Amerson Academic Award) and Xavier Sneed (Ernie Barrett Play Hard Award), redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra (Ed Nealy Most Improved Player Award) and Stockard (Bob Boozer Courage Award).
Schoen won the Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player Award, which is the program's oldest award and honors the longtime K-State Athletics Trainer from 1950-80. As the team's lone senior, Schoen served as the team's emotional leader while completing a second undergraduate degree in marketing as well as taking credits towards an MBA and earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors.
A sophomore transfer from New Mexico Junior College, Mawien was selected as the Dean Harris Newcomer of the Year after averaging 6.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game. One of just three Wildcats to start all 37 games, he scored in double figures in four of his last seven games, including a career-best 29-point effort against Kansas in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
Sneed earned the Ernie Barrett Play Hard Award, which goes annually to the single-season leader on the Wayne McClain Play Hard Chart and tracks deflections/blocks, steals, dives, loose balls, offensive rebounds and charges. The team's deep threat with 65 3-pointers on the season, he ranked third on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting to go with 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.4 minutes per game. He scored in double figures in 22 games, including four 20-point outings.
Diarra was selected as the winner of the Ed Nealy Most Improved Player Award after the redshirt freshman was thrust into the starting lineup just three games into Big 12 play due to the Stokes' injury. He started the final 22 games, averaging 7.1 points on 46.9 percent shooting, including 40.5 percent from 3-point range, to go with 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 23.8 minutes per game.
McAtee was selected as the winner of the Keith Amerson Academic Award after earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors this past season. A walk-on who saw action in 10 games, he has been a member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll each semester he has been on the team.
A true freshman from St. Louis, Stockard shared the Bob Boozer Courage Award with Stokes after playing in 36 of 37 games this past season. Although he averaged just 1.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, he played a pivotal role in a number of wins, including road victories at Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and Texas and the quarterfinal win over TCU at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
K-State concluded its record-setting 2017-18 season with a 25-12 overall record and the school's 12th Elite Eight appearance. It was just the sixth 25-win season and the first since a 27-win campaign in 2012-13. Overall, the Wildcats have now advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times in the last 12 seasons, including four times in coach Bruce Weber's six seasons. The squad is expected to return all but two players, including all five starters.
2017-18 Kansas State Men's Basketball Team Awards:
Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Award: Mason Schoen
Rolando Blackman Most Valuable Player Award: Barry Brown, Jr./Dean Wade
Tex Winter Top Offensive Player Award: Dean Wade
Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player Award: Barry Brown, Jr.
Dean Harris Newcomer of the Year Award: Makol Mawien
Ernie Barrett Play Hard Award: Xavier Sneed
Ed Nealy Most Improved Award: Cartier Diarra
Mitch Richmond Mr. Basketball Award: Barry Brown, Jr./Dean Wade
Bob Boozer Courage Award: Kamau Stokes/Levi Stockard III
1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery "Never Broken" Award: Kamau Stokes
Keith Amerson Academic Award: Pierson McAtee
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