HPU’s Chaney named CBSSports.com Comeback Player of the Year

Graduate student Allan Chaney (Baltimore, Md.) was named CBSSports.com Comeback Player of the Year, it was announced on Wednesday. Chaney averaged 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds after missing three full seasons with a life-threatening heart issue. He has eligibility for the 2013-14 season.

Chaney was named to the All-Big South second team after leading High Point in both scoring and rebounding in Big South games, averaging 14.9 ppg and 7.9 rpg. Entering postseason tournaments, Chaney ranked 12th in Big South scoring (14.4 ppg), fifth in rebounding (8.0 rpg), third in field-goal percentage (52.0), fourth in blocks per game (1.3) and fifth in free-throw percentage (81.6).

He was one of only six Big South players with three games of 20 points, 10 rebounds and scored in double-digits 23 times. Chaney went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in two different games. Chaney was also an above-average shot blocker for the Panthers. His 37 blocks this season rank seventh in HPU annals and he is averaging a team-high 1.3 blocks per game.

In the spring of 2010, Chaney experienced a life-threatening heart problem called viral myrocarditis. He was forced to sit out the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons before being medically cleared to play in May 2012. He had already missed the 2009-10 season when he transferred from the University of Florida to Virginia Tech.

Chaney graduated from Virginia Tech in 2012 with a degree in apparel, housing and resource management. He transferred to High Point University last summer and enrolled in HPU’s master’s degree program in nonprofit management. The NCAA granted Chaney relief from the one-time-transfer exception rule as well as a sixth season of eligibility.

Chaney helped lead High Point to its best season since joining NCAA Div. I in 1999-2000. The Panthers won their first Big South title, taking the Big South North Division trophy, and set a program record with 12 Big South wins. The Panthers went 12-4 in the Big South, tying South Division champ Charleston Southern for the best record in league play.

High Point plays UC Irvine in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. (Eastern) in Irvine, Calif. It’s HPU’s first NCAA Div. I postseason appearance.