High Point’s John Brown named First Team MBB All-Big South

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University men’s basketball redshirt-junior forward John Brown has been named to the All-Big South First Team, the league announced Monday.

It marks the third-straight season that Brown has been named first team All-Big South. Brown is one of just five Big South players over the past 26 years to earn first team league honors in three consecutive seasons. He joins former HPU great Arizona Reid (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08) as the only Panthers to accomplish the feat.

Brown is joined on the first team by Saah Nimley (Charleston Southern), Javonte Green (Radford), Jerome Hill (Gardner-Webb) and Keon Moore (Winthrop). Nimley was named the league’s player of the year, while Green earned defensive player of the year honors.

In addition to Brown’s accolades, junior guard Haiishen McIntyre was named to the Big South All-Academic Team. McIntyre carries a 3.04 GPA and is majoring in business administration. One of the team’s premier defenders, McIntyre averages 4.0 points and has dished out a team-high 78 assists this season.

Brown has put together another outstanding campaign in his redshirt-junior season with the Panthers. A nominee for the Lou Henson Award – given annually to the top mid-major player in college basketball – Brown has proved to be one of the most efficient players in the nation.

Ranked No. 1 in the Big South in Ken Pomeroy’s offensive ratings system, Brown is fourth in the nation in field goals made (215) this season and is 35th in the country in both field goal percentage (.548) and points per game (18.6). One of the most consistent scorers in the country, Brown has posted at least 10 points in 26-of-29 games and at least 20 points in 12 contests.

He ranks in the top-10 in the Big South in field goal percentage (2nd), offensive rebounds per game (2nd, 3.00/game), scoring (5th), blocks (7th, 1.1 bpg), free throw percentage (9th, .740) and rebounding (10th, 5.8 rpg). Brown leads the Panthers in 10 statistical categories, including scoring, field goal percentage, field goals and free throws made, blocks and steals.

In 2014-15, Brown and the Panthers have put together one of the program’s most impressive seasons in its Division I history. HPU has tied the Div. I program record for wins in a season (22) and set new Div. I highs for road wins (9) and conference road wins (6). The Panthers started the season 17-5 for the first time since 1995-96 and began Big South play 8-2 for the first time in program history.

In only three seasons, Brown has become one of just four Big South players to post 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 blocks and 100 steals in a career. He ranks seventh in HPU history (third in Div. I history) in scoring with 1,601 career points and is fifth all-time in field goals made (619). Brown also is second all-time in school history in blocks (117), fourth in free throws made (363) and fifth in steals (133).

One of the most electric players in the nation, Brown has appeared on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top-10 plays 10 times in his career, and his Feb. 6 dunk at Coastal Carolina this season went viral, reaching more than 2.5 million Twitter users. He’s received national recognition this season from ESPN’s Jay Bilas, Dana O’Neil and Jeff Goodman, as well as NBCSports.com’s Rob Dauster and CBSSports.com’s Matt Norlander. In February, Brown was featured in an in-depth profile by Sports Illustrated’s Luke Winn.

Brown and the Panthers open the 2015 Big South Tournament on Friday (March 6) at 6 p.m. in quarterfinal action in Conway, S.C. The Panthers will play the winner of the first round game between No. 7 Gardner-Webb/No. 10 Campbell.

2014-15 BIG SOUTH MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE

First-Team All-Conference
Saah Nimley, G, Sr., Charleston Southern
John Brown, F, R-Jr., High Point
Jerome Hill, F, Jr., Gardner-Webb
Javonte Green, F, Sr., Radford
Keon Moore, G, R-Sr., Winthrop

Second-Team All-Conference
Andrew Rowsey, G, Soph., UNC Asheville
Warren Gillis, F, Sr., Coastal Carolina
Tyler Strange, G, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Will Saunders, F, Sr., Charleston Southern
Quincy Taylor, G, R-Sr., Longwood

Honorable Mention All-Conference
Jordan Downing, G/F, R-Sr., Presbyterian College
Arlon Harper, G, Sr., Charleston Southern
R.J. Price, G, Sr., Radford
DeSean Murray, F, Fr., Presbyterian College
Josh Cameron, G, Sr., Coastal Carolina

All-Freshman Team
DeSean Murray, F, Presbyterian College
Xavier Cooks, F, Winthrop
Kevin Vannatta, G, UNC Asheville
Ryan Badowski, G, Longwood
Curtis Phillips, F, Campbell

All-Academic Team
Andrew Ryan, G, R-Sr., Campbell
Paul Gombwer, F, Sr., Charleston Southern
Tristian Curtis, F, Jr., Coastal Carolina
Tyrell Nelson, C, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Haiishen McIntyre, G, Jr., High Point
Ethan Layer, G, R-Jr., Liberty
Damarion Geter, F, Soph., Longwood
Kyle Noreen, F, Sr., Radford
Giacomo Zilli, F, Soph., UNC Asheville
Derrick Henry, G, R-Jr., Winthrop

Player of the Year
Saah Nimley, G, Sr., Charleston Southern

Freshman of the Year
DeSean Murray, F, Presbyterian College

Defensive Player of the Year
Javonte Green, F, Sr., Radford

Coach of the Year
Barclay Radebaugh, Charleston Southern

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Giacomo Zilli, F, Soph., UNC Asheville