University of North Texas Athletics
Davis Earns Sun Belt Conference Accolades
3/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DENTON (3/1/06) -- North Texas men’s basketball standout Kendrick Davis (Houston, Texas) has been named the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year and earned Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors as well after leading the Mean Green in scoring with 17 points per game, which also ranked sixth in the league during the regular season.
Davis is the first North Texas player to ever be named the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year and also the first Mean Green player to receive the award in any league since Donnell Hayden did so in the Southland Conference in 1990-91. Davis was named Street & Smith’s Preseason Sun Belt Conference player of the Year before the season started.
While Davis is ranked sixth in the Sun Belt in scoring, he is ranked third in the league for conference games only with a 17.7 points per game average. Davis also ended the regular season ranked among the top 11 players in the conference in steals, free throw percentage and three-point field goals made.
The Houston, Texas, native is currently second on the team in steals (39) and third in assists (65). Just three assists behind the team leader in the stat, if Davis finishes the year as the team leader in both scoring and assists he will become just the third player in school history to lead NT in both since the NCAA started keeping assists as an official stat in 1984.
Davis has also scored in double figures 23 times and posted 20 or more points in 12 games. Earlier this season, he became the first player since Chris Davis in 2001-02 to score 20 or more points in four straight games. With 459 points to his credit, Davis became the 30th player in school history to score 400 or more points in a single season and if he scores 500 will become the 16th player in North Texas history to accomplish the feat in one season.
The Mean Green has now placed at least one player on the All-Sun Belt First or Second Team in each of Johnny Jones’ five seasons at North Texas.
North Texas plays Arkansas-Little Rock on Friday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
2005-06 ALL-SUN BELT CONFERENCE
FIRST TEAM: Bobby Dixon (Troy, Sr. - G), Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky, So. - G/F), Dwayne Mitchell (UL Lafayette, Sr. - G), Yemi Nicholson (Denver, Sr. - C), Anthony Winchester (Western Kentucky, Sr. - G)
SECOND TEAM: Ivan Almonte (Flordia International, Sr. - F), Kendrick Davis (North Texas, Jr. - G), Mario Jointer (South Alabama, Sr. - G), Michael Southall (UL Lafayette, Sr. - C), Dereke Tipler (Arkansas State, Sr. - G)
THIRD TEAM: Rashad Jones-Jennings (Arkansas-Little Rock, Jr. - F), Richard Law (South Alabama, Sr. - F), Jaime McNeilly (New Orleans, Jr. - G), Zack Wright (Arkansas-Little Rock, Jr. - G), Adam Vogelsberg (Middle Tennessee, Jr. - G)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Anthony Winchester, WKU
DEF. PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Yemi Nicholson, Denver
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Kendrick Davis, NT
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Lekheythan Malone, UALR
COACH OF THE YEAR: John Pelphrey, USA
