CHARLESTON, SC ? Georgia Southern’s Elton Nesbitt, the 2006 Southern Conference Player of the Year, highlights the 10-player all-conference team that was announced today in conjunction with the league’s tournament.
Elon’s Ernie Nestor was named the SoCon Coach of the Year, while College of Charleston’s Jermaine Johnson was tabbed the conference’s Freshman of the Year. The league’s 11 head coaches conducted the voting on the 10-member squad.
Nesbitt, a 5-9, 165-pound senior guard from Deerfield Beach, FL, is the first Georgia Southern player to garner the league’s top individual honor, which was first presented in 1990. He led the Eagles to their first outright South Division crown (11-5 league record) and paced the league in scoring, averaging 22.4 points per game. He also topped the league charts in 3-point field goals (99) and is among the league leaders in free throw percentage (6th at .804), steals per game (5th at 2.1) and 3-point field goal percentage (tied for 5th at .407). Nesbitt eclipsed the 20-point mark on 18 occasions, including five games of 30 or more points. He is only the second GSU player to garner all-conference honors from the coaches twice in a career, joining Julius Jenkins who earned the accolades in 2001 and 2003.
Johnson, a 6-7, 250-pound forward from Anaheim, CA, topped all freshmen in scoring and rebounding during the regular season. He was 36th in the league in scoring at 8.7 ppg and fourth in rebounding at 7.3 rpg. Johnson posted eight games of 10 or more rebounds, including a career-high 13 rebounds twice in the final three games of the regular season. The first Cougar to capture the coaches selection as the top freshman, Johnson posted five double-doubles which is tied for third in the SoCon.
Nestor guided the Phoenix to a 10-4 record in league play and captured the program’s first-ever North Division crown. Picked to finish fourth in the division back in the preseason, Elon went 7-0 at home in conference action and finished the regular season with 14 victories, the most by an Elon team since moving to Division I. The Phoenix are the No. 2 seed in the SoCon Basketball Tournament which starts Thursday, March 2 at the North Charleston Coliseum.
Nesbitt is joined on the all-conference team by Appalachian State’s D.J. Thompson, College of Charleston’s Dontaye Draper, Davidson’s Ian Johnson and Brendan Winters, Elon’s Chris Chalko, Furman’s Moussa Diagne, UNC Greensboro’s Ricky Hickman and Kyle Hines and Wofford’s Howard Wilkerson.
Winters becomes only the 26th player in league history to garner all-conference accolades three times in a career, and is the fifth Wildcat to accomplish the feat. Nesbitt and Hines repeat on the team from last season.
Joining Johnson on the all-freshman team are Elon’s Brett James, Furman’s Jadee Jones and Stanley Jones, and UNC Greensboro’s David McClenny.
The Southern Conference Sports Media Association will announce its all-conference team and specialty award winners later today.
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