Men's Basketball | 3/15/2011 9:14:00 AM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The honors continue to stream in for the unbeaten and No. 1-ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team even as Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers prepare to host defending regional champion Indiana (Pa.) in tonight's NCAA Division II Atlantic Region championship game at the ASRC.
Crutchfield was named Atlantic District Coach of the Year and Hilltopper seniors Corey Pelle and Barry Shetzer were honored as All-District performers on Tuesday morning when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced its All-District Teams for the 2010-11 season.
Selected in balloting by NABC members from coast to coast, the All-District teams mirror the NCAA Division II's regional setup with 11 players – 6 first-team and 5 second-team – honored in each of the nation's eight districts or regions. The 88 All-District players comprise the selection pool for the 2011 State Farm Coaches' Division II All-America Team, which will be selected and announced by the NABC in conjunction with next week's Elite Eight.
Crutchfield is no stranger to post-season honors. Earlier this season he became the West Virginia Conference's first three-time men's basketball Coach of the Year after leading the Hilltoppers to their seventh consecutive 20-win season and the first 30-win season in school history. His West Liberty teams have scored more points and made more 3-point field goals than any team in the nation during his seven years at the helm. Crutchfield's career record of 173-39 (.815) ranks No. 1 nationally among all NCAA Division II coaches.
Pelle, a 5-11 senior guard from Silver Grove, Ky., was one of the six first-team selections on the All-District Team. The scintillating playmaker was honored earlier as the Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year and the WVIAC Player of the Year after leading the nation's No. 1-ranked team to its second straight West Virginia Conference championship and Atlantic Region title game. Along with averaging 16.4 ppg., Pelle led the WVIAC in steals and assists – ranking among the top six nationally in both categories. Heading into tonight's regional final, the slippery southpaw has already broken his own single-season steals record (95) and is West Liberty's all-time leader in steals (324) and assists (632).
Shetzer, a 6-5 guard from North Canton, Ohio, was one of the five second-team All-District selections. A first-team All-WVIAC and second-team All-Region honoree, Shetzer is the first Hilltopper ever to post back-to-back seasons with 100 or more 3-point field goals and is the school's career leader with 277 3-pointers. At 16.7 ppg. heading into tonight's game, he is the leading scorer on the highest-scoring team in the nation and leads WLU with 28 double-figure scoring games this season. His 112 3-point field goals rank among the top five nationally this year.
Joining Pelle on the First-Team unit are Cheyney (Pa.) guard Sharif Bray, Mansfield (Pa.) center Yuseff Carr, Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) guard Trevin Parks, Mercyhurst (Pa.) guard Heiden Ratner and Indiana (Pa.) center Darryl Webb.
The Second Team unit includes Shetzer, Slippery Rock (Pa.) center Maron Brown, Virginia Union forward Braxton Byerson, Winston-Salem State (N.C.) center Paul Davis and Bowie State (Md.) guard Eric Vann.
NABC Division II
2010-11 All-Atlantic District
Coach of the Year: Jim Crutchfield, West Liberty
First Team
Player Ht Yr School PPG RPG APG
Sharif Bray 6-3 Sr. Cheyney 21.6 3.7 3.6
Yuseff Carr 6-6 Sr. Mansfield 16.3 7.4 0.7
Trevin Parks 5-9 So. Johnson C. Smith 21.2 2.6 4.4
COREY PELLE 5-11 SR. WEST LIBERTY 16.4 4.4 6.2
Heiden Ratner 6-0 Sr. Mercyhurst 19.6 3.5 2.3
Darryl Webb 6-6 Sr. Indiana, Pa. 17.2 9.9 1.6
Second Team
Player Ht Yr School PPG RPG APG
Maron Brown 6-5 Sr. Slippery Rock 17.7 10.2 0.3
Braxton Byerson 6-3 Sr. Virginia Union 21.0 5.7 1.2
Paul Davis 6-9 Sr. Winston-Salem State 11.4 9.3 0.6
BARRY SHETZER 6-5 SR. WEST LIBERTY 16.7 4.7 3.6
Eric Vann 6-0 Sr. Bowie State 17.7 3.8 1.9
