D3hoops.Com 2019 Men's All-South Region Team | NABC 2019 Men's All-District Teams
SEWANEE, Tenn. / KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sewanee guard Luke Smith has been selected to the Second Team of D3hoops All-South Region and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-South District Teams this week.
The Knoxville, Tenn. native wrapped up a stellar second season with the Purple and Gold, as he was named to the First Team of the All-Southern Athletic Association.
Smith becomes the third student-athlete to be selected to the All-Region Team by D3hoops, and it is the third straight year Sewanee has been represented in the region. Adrian Thomas (Third Team) was named to the team last season and Brody Stone (Third Team) was chosen in 2017.
This is the second straight season Sewanee has been represented by the NABC All-South District team, joining Thomas who was chosen a year ago.
The 2018 SAA Newcomer of the Year led the SAA with 20.1 points per game, a 43.4 three-point field goal shooting performance and an 89.7 percent clip from the charity stripe.
Smith was chosen as the SAA Tournament Most Valuable Player with his performance in the three-day tournament that saw Sewanee claim its first SAA Tournament Championship and the team's first conference title since 1997 and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998.
Averaging 19.1 points per game inside conference play, the two-time All-SAA selection was selected as the national Division III men's basketball player of the week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) with his performance in the Tournament. In three games, he scored 90 points on 28-of-42 shooting from the field (66.7 percent). From beyond the arc, the sophomore went 18-of-24 (75 percent) from downtown. He averaged 39 minutes in three games.
About the D3hoops.Com All-Region Teams
Players chosen to the D3hoops.com All-Region team are eligible for All-American selection. The men's All-American team will be announced at the end of this week, in conjunction with the Division III men's championships.
This is the 18th year D3hoops.com has named an All-Region team and this year's All-America team will be the 22nd annual All-American selections. The D3hoops.com All-American teams, along with those of the respective coaches' associations, are the only ones recognized in the NCAA record book.
Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools, who were contacted multiple times as the season wound down to remind them to make their players eligible. There were 716 players nominated nationwide. The ballot was then made available to SIDs, who voted for a predetermined number of players in their region.
About the National Association of Basketball Coaches
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today the 2019 NABC Coaches' Division III All-District teams and coaches, recognizing the best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes and coaches in the division, selected by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division III.
Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Forrest "Phog" Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.org.
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*First Released on March 11 for the D3hoops All-Region Team, Release updated March 13, 2019, to reflect NABC South Region Honors