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SoCon honors Ed Conroy as Coach of the Year

SPARTANBURG, SC - The Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA) has announced its selections for the 2009 all-conference men's basketball team.  The media panel also selected Davidson junior Stephen Curry as the Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.  Ed Conroy of The Citadel was selected Coach of the Year, while Western Carolina's Harouna Mutombo was named Freshman of the Year.

Curry, the nation's leading scorer with 28.4 points per game, helped the Wildcats post a record of 18-2 in league play to earn the South Division crown.  He was also selected first team all-conference.  Curry was joined by Wofford's Noah Dahlman, Andrew Goudelock of College of Charleston, Stephen McDowell of Chattanooga and St. John's grad Demetrius Nelson of The Citadel.  Both Goudelock and McDowell earned second-team accolades last season, while Dahlman and Nelson earned their first all-conference selection. 

Mutombo, the league's top-scoring freshman, averaged 14.6 points per game which was ninth-best in the league during the regular season.  He becomes the fourth Catamount to win the award and the first since Jarvis Hayes in 2000.  Mutombo garnered second team all-conference honors along with Kellen Brand of Appalachian State, Nicchaeus Doaks of Chattanooga, Andrew Lovedale of Davidson and Cameron Wells from The Citadel.  Doaks garnered second-team honors in back to back seasons after being named second team all-conference in 2008.

Elon's Ola Atoyebi was named third team all-conference for the second consecutive season.  He was joined by Western Carolina's Brandon Giles, College of Charleston's Jermaine Johnson, Furman's Jordan Miller and Wofford's Junior Salters.

The Citadel head coach Ed Conroy earned the Anton Foy Coach of the Year Award after engineering the greatest turnaround in league history.  The Bulldogs finished league play 1-19 in 2008 and improved 14 games to 15-5 this season.  The Citadel earned the second seed in the South Division and will have a bye in the opening round of the conference tournament.

The 2009 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament begins Friday, March 6 at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga.  Appalachian State faces Georgia Southern in the first game of the opening round. Tip off is set for 2:00 pm. 

2008-09 SCSMA All-Conference

Courtesy:  Southern Conference