Lamb's Second Player of Year Honor Highlights 2019-20 Men's #AEHoops Honors
BOSTON – On the heels of leading Vermont to its fourth-straight #AEHoops regular-season title, Anthony Lamb was been named the Kevin Roberson America East Player of the Year for the second-consecutive year highlighting the conference’s 2019-20 men’s basketball annual award winners. All of the conference’s 2019-20 major awards were announced Friday morning along with the All-Conference, All-Defensive, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams. Award winners were determined in a vote by the league’s head coaches, who could not vote for their own players.
Full Awards Listing
Lamb was joined as a major award winner by his head coach, John Becker, who earned Coach of the Year honors for a record fifth time. Catamounts Ben Shungu and Ryan Davis were named Defensive Player and Sixth Man of the Year, respectively, while Binghamton’s George Tinsley earned Rookie of the Year accolades.
Kevin Roberson Player of the Year
Anthony Lamb, Sr., Forward, Vermont
- Ninth player to earn Player of the Year honors for a second time.
- Fourth-straight Catamount to earn the award and 12th all-time.
- One of just two players to rank in the conference’s top seven in scoring (7th – 16.5 ppg), rebounding (5th – 7.3 rpg) and blocks (4th – 1.3 bpg).
- Was a two-time #AEHoops Player of the Week this season.
- Also a first-team All-Conference honoree for the second-straight year.
Defensive Player of the Year
Ben Shungu, Jr., Guard, Vermont
- Seventh Catamount to be named Defensive Player of the Year.
- Key perimeter defender in Vermont’s elite defensive unit.
- Catamounts rank in the top five nationally in both scoring defense (59.3 points allowed/game) and field goal percentage defense (.378 opponent FG%).
- Contributes 3.7 defensive rebounds per game.
- Also an All-Defensive team choice.
Sixth Man of the Year
Ryan Davis, So., Forward, Vermont
- Third Catamount to be named to earn Sixth Man of the Year in the seven-year history of the award.
- Vermont’s third-leading scorer despite coming off the bench in all but three games.
- Averages 9.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in only 19.8 minutes per game.
- Shoots 54 percent from the field.
Rookie of the Year
George Tinsley, Fr., Forward, Binghamton
- Second-straight Bearcat to earn Rookie of the Year accolades.
- Top rookie scorer and rebounds, ranking in the top 20 overall in scoring (17th – 11.6 ppg) and rebounding (4th - 7.4 rpg).
- Was named #AEHoops Rookie of the Week three times this season.
- Highlighted the All-Rookie team as one of five selections.
Coach of the Year
John Becker, Vermont – 9th Season
- Set a new conference standard by earning Coach of the Year honors for a fifth time.
- First coach to earn the honor in four consecutive seasons.
- Led Vermont to its fourth-straight #AEHoops regular-seasons title, becoming the first program to win four outright titles in a row.
- Has the Catamounts (24-7) in the midst of their 12th-straight 20-plus win season.
Seven seniors, six juniors and two sophomores comprised the All-Conference teams. Six of the nine programs had multiple selections and each team had at least one.
2019-20 America East Men’s Basketball Awards
First Team All-Conference
Malik Ellison, Gr., F, Hartford
Anthony Lamb, Sr., F, Vermont
Obadiah Noel, Jr., G ,UMass Lowell
Elijah Olaniyi, Jr., G, Stony Brook
Stef Smith, Jr., G, Vermont
Second Team All-Conference
Ahmad Clark, Jr., G, UAlbany
Andrew Garcia, Jr., F, Stony Brook
K.J. Jackson, Sr., G, UMBC
Christian Lutete, Gr., G, UMass Lowell
Sam Sessoms, So., G, Binghamton
Third Team All-Conference
Traci Carter, Gr., G, Hartford
Sergio El-Darwich, Sr., G, Maine
Andrew Fleming, Sr., F, Maine
Nick Guadarrama, So., F, UNH
Sean Sutherlin, Jr., F, UNH
All-Defensive Team
Traci Carter, Gr., G, Hartford
K.J. Jackson, Sr., G, UMBC
Chris Lester, Gr., F, UNH
Jeff Otchere, Jr., C, Stony Brook
Ben Shungu, Jr., G, Vermont
All-Rookie Team
Trey Hutcheson, Fr., G/F, UAlbany
Moses Flowers, Fr., G, Hartford
Brenton Mills, Fr., G, Binghamton
George Tinsley, Fr., F, Binghamton
Connor Withers, Fr., F, UMass Lowell
All-Academic Team
Chris Lester, Gr., UNH
Adam Lulka, So., UAlbany
Christian Lutete, Gr., UMass Lowell
Hunter Marks, So., Hartford
Mykhailo Yagodin, So., Maine
The majority of the honorees will be in action Saturday when the 2020 #AEPlayoffs get underway. Complete tournament information can be found at Playoffs Central.
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