2024 All-NCAC Men's Basketball Team Announced

CLEVELAND, OH -- Wooster senior forward Nick Everett (Salem, OH/West Branch) has been named the Player of the Year and Fighting Scot junior guard Jamir Billings (Lorain, OH/Lorain) has been selected the league's Top Defensive Player to highlight the 2024 All-North Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball squad, as selected by the league's head coaches. This is the first time that the Player of the Year and Top Defensive Player awards were won by the same school.
 
Everett claims Wooster’s 11th NCAC Player of the Year award, the program’s first since Danyon Hempy was selected in 2019-20. The senior earned his second-consecutive All-NCAC certificate after earning third-team honors last winter and elevating to the top team this season. Everett was the NCAC’s most efficient shooter against league opponents, making 78-of-104 field goal attempts for an NCAC-best .750 shooting percentage. In 352 minutes of conference action, the senior netted 216 points to average 13.5 per game. Against NCAC opponents, the forward ranked in the top 10 in scoring, free-throws made (60) and offensive rebounds (29). He scored in double figures in 12 of the 16 conference games, while producing a season-high 20 against Wittenberg on Feb.10. Everett gathered three or more rebounds and shot .500 or better in 13 of the 16 league matchups, which included two 7-for-7 performances from the floor against Denison on Jan. 20 and DePauw on Jan. 27. Everett set the Wooster program record with 24 consecutive field-goal makes spanning Jan. 17-Feb. 3 and came up two shy of Anna Maria College's Mike Rapoza's NCAA Div. III record of 26 consecutive makes. His efficient .728 shooting from the floor (134-of-184) breaks the NCAC single-season record in field goal percentage, which was set in 2004-05 by Wooster’s Matt Schlingman (.696; 128-of-184).

Billings is the first two-time winner of the NCAC Top Defensive Player award after collecting the honor along with Newcomer of the Year in 2021-22. The junior is a three-time all-NCAC selection, collecting second-team honors this season, first-team accolades last season and honorable-mention laurels in 2021-22. Billings anchored a Wooster defensive unit that limited NCAC opponents to 67.8 points per game and a .438 shooting percentage. In 16 conference games, the guard led the league in steals with 54 (3.4 spg), recording at least three in 10 NCAC matchups which included a season-high seven against Hiram on Feb. 14. He also collected 82 rebounds (5.1 rpg), 73 of which came from the defensive end and made five blocks. Billings also produced on offense for the Fighting Scots, averaging 8.3 points per game and dishing a league-high 85 assists in conference play. So far in his career, he has passed out 468 assists for the most all-time at Wooster.
 
Wabash senior forward Ahmoni Jones (Indianapolis, IN/Pike) is the lone repeat selection to the All-NCAC first team this season. Ohio Wesleyan junior guard Henry Hinkle (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty) and Wittenberg junior guard Trey Killens (Cincinnati, OH/Mason) join Everett with promotions to the first team after third-team selections last season, while Hinkle also collected honorable-mention accolades in 2021-22. Wooster junior guard Ashton Price (Bay Village, OH/Bay) made his all-conference debut this season with first-team honors.
 
Oberlin freshman forward JJ Gray (Huntington Beach, CA/Fountain Valley) is the fourth Yeoman to earn the NCAC's Newcomer of the Year award as the league's top player in his first year of collegiate competition, and he’s the first since Quinton Spencer collected the award in 2004-05. Gray was one of the top-four scorers in NCAC play, netting 258 points in 14 conference games to average 18.4 points per game. The rookie also collected 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, to go along with nine steals and eight blocks in conference action. Gray scored in double figures in all 14 NCAC matchups he played in, which included five games with 20 or more points, recording a season-high 28 against Hiram on Feb. 3.
 
Wabash claimed the 2024 Coaching Staff of the Year honors, the third coaching award in program history. The Little Giants are led by Head Coach Kyle Brumett, Associate Head Coach Pat Sullivan, and Assistants Aaron Jacobs and Ron Henricks. The Wabash squad was guided to their second NCAC championship title after compiling a 13-3 record in conference play. In 16 conference games, the Little Giants averaged 75.1 points and 36.9 rebounds, while the Wabash defense held opponents to a league-low 66.6 points per game and collected a conference-high 4.94 blocks per game.

Related Stories

Related Videos

Now Playing: