College Men’s Basketball News – Guilford’s Houston & Palombo Take Top Honors at ODAC Awards Banquet

SALEM, Va. – Guilford College’s Zachary Houston (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen’s) was named Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season, and Quakers’ head coach Tom Palombo won his record-tying fourth Bob Johnson Coach of the Year Award Wednesday night at the annual ODAC Men’s Basketball Tournament banquet. The Quakers’ Carson Long (Pilot Mountain, N.C./East Surry) collected First Team All-ODAC recognition, while Houston and Alston Thompson (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) were third-team all-league picks. This marks Guilford’s first season with three all-conference selections since 2010 and ties the school record.

Zachary Houston - Guilford 2017

Houston, a 6-0 senior point guard, serves as a jack of all trades for the Quakers and ranks among the ODAC leaders in several categories. He stands fifth in rebounds per game (7.7 rpg.), fourth in offensive rebounds per game (2.3 orpg.), fourth in assists (3.7 apg.), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7), and third in minutes (34.0 mpg.). Houston also stands at the ODAC’s leader in steals with 45, and steals per game with an average of 1.8 thefts per contest. Houston collected a career-high 16 rebounds to lead Guilford over rival Greensboro College to open the 2016-17 campaign, and helped the Quakers to a 13-3 conference record with 6.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.8 points per game in ODAC play.

A year ago, Houston became the Quakers’ first ODAC Scholar-Athlete in the award’s 13-year history. He becomes the third student-athlete in league history to earn the award twice. He earned his second consecutive Academic All-District V honor from the College Sports Information Directors of America earlier this month and is a three-time Academic All-ODAC selection. A seven-time Guilford Student-Athlete Honor Roll member, Houston is a dean’s list health sciences and exercise and sport sciences double major with a 3.82 grade point average. He serves on Guilford’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is an active member of the Guilford Christian Ministry. Houston is also a certified nursing assistant and was named a 2015-16 Third Team All-ODAC selection.

Tom Palombo - Guilford

Palombo was awarded the Bob Johnson Head Coach of the Year Award for the fourth time in his career Wednesday night, his first honor since 2009. He led the Quakers to a 20-5 overall record this season, and a share of first place in the ODAC regular-season standings. Guilford was ranked as high as 22nd in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll at one point this year and is third in the current NCAA Division III South Region Rankings.

The Quakers’ 75-60 victory over Shenandoah University January 7 marked Palombo’s 500th overall basketball coaching win. Palombo, who compiled a 141-50 record in seven years as a head women’s basketball coach, now has a 368-180 mark in 19-plus seasons as a men’s mentor. His overall record in 26-plus years as a head basketball coach stands at 509-230. Palombo is 268-117 in 13-plus seasons as the Quakers’ men’ basketball coach. Palombo, a 1989 Virginia Wesleyan College alum, joins Bridgewater College coaching legend Bill Leatherman as the league’s only head coaches to receive ODAC Coach of the Year honors on four occasions.

Carson Long - Guilford 2019

Long, a 6-4 210-pound sophomore forward, is enjoying a breakout season in his second year with the program. He is the Quakers’ leading scorer with 14.6 points per game, which ranks ninth in the ODAC. Long also averages 5.1 rebounds per game, good for third on the team and 22nd in the league. His 2.2 three-pointers per game rank 10th league-wide. Long finished in double-figure scoring 18 times, including 11 times ODAC competition. His career-high 32 points on 15-for-20 shooting led the Quakers over conference-rival Eastern Mennonite, 94-88, November 30. Long’s three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation lifted Guilford to a road victory over ODAC-foe Washington and Lee University, 68-66.

Alston Thompson - Guilford 2019

A year ago, Thompson became just the fifth Quaker to win ODAC Rookie of the Year honors. This season, he adds a Third Team All-ODAC commendation to his list of accolades. The 6-5, 215-pound forward started in each of Guilford’s 25 contests and averaged 11.1 points per game, good for second on the team. He ranks as the conference’s fourth-leading rebounder with 7.9 boards per contest and ranks first with 3.4 offensive rebounds per game. His 1.1 blocks per contest rank fourth league-wide and his 1.8 assists per game stand third on the team. He tallied four doubles-doubles, including a 15-point, 14-rebound outing on opening night versus Greensboro. His season-best 19 points led the Quakers to a 77-60 victory over ODAC-foe Randolph College January 11.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers (20-5, 13-3 ODAC) are seeded first in this week’s ODAC Tournament. Guilford earned a first-round bye and open play in Friday’s (2/23) quarterfinals at 1:00 p.m. versus eighth-seeded Hampden-Sydney College in the Salem Civic Center.