Dearman Named ODAC Player Of The Year, Burch Also Receives All-ODAC Recognition
Dearman also named ODAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-ODAC First Team, Burch honored on the second team
FOREST, Va. – Tyler Dearman (Greensboro, N.C.) was selected as the Kurt Axe Player of the Year, in addition to ODAC Defensive Player of the Year while being named first team all-conference with Julius Burch (Greensboro, N.C.) joining him on the second team representing the Guilford College men’s basketball team, as it was announced by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) offices on Wednesday morning.
Dearman becomes the first Quaker to earn the Kurt Axe Player of the Year since Matt McCarthy ’15 received the award in 2015. In addition, he is the first Guilford College men’s basketball player to be named ODAC Defensive Player of the Year since the award began being distributed in 2019. He is also the second player in league history to earn Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season after Randolph-Macon’s Miles Mallory matched the feat a season ago.
The Quakers tandem are both multiple-time honorees as GC is one of six teams in the conference to net multiple selections. Randolph-Macon College, Hampden-Sydney College, and Washington and Lee University each had three players make the All-ODAC teams while Roanoke College and Bridgewater College joined Guilford with two selections apiece.
This year marks the second-straight season that Dearman has been named All-ODAC First Team, and third overall as an all-conference selection and it was well earned. The Quakers’ leader in most categories, he was a driving force behind the team’s 22-3 season and 13-3 record in conference play. Dearman finished the regular season pacing the Quakers in points per game, total points, field goal makes and attempts, three-point makes and attempts, free throw makes, attempts, and percentage, assists, and steals. He finished second in the conference, scoring 19.7 points per game across 34.7 minutes per contest, the third-most in the league. He also finished fourth in three-point makes per game with 2.3, and free-throw percentage at .850. A quality distributor, Dearman dished out a team-leading 3.0 assists per game, doing so with a positive assist-turnover ratio. He made an impact on both sides of the ball as well, as he was also the conference leader in steals, collecting 2.4 per contest and anchored the number-two defense in the ODAC and third-best in the nation.
Burch returns to the All-ODAC team this season after being a notable omission a season ago, rising to the second team after being a third team selection in 2022. Offensively, Burch enjoyed the best season of his Guilford career, scoring 10.7 points per game, ranking 24th in the conference, doing so by being efficient in his attempts by converting at a .578 clip that ranked third. The ODAC’s leading rebounder, Burch dominated the glass and completes conference play just shy of averaging a double-double. He stands second in the ODAC in defensive rebounds per game with 6.3, and also the runner-up in offensive rebounding, grabbing 3.5 per contest, summating to a 9.8 caroms per game average that paced the conference by over half a rebound. Defensively, Burch manned the middle for one of the best defenses in the nation, leading the Quakers in blocks with a dozen while being tied for second on the team in steals with 30. In addition, Burch finished second on the squad in assists with 63 while posting a 1.54 assist-turnover ratio that is the second-best on the team among players with at least ten helpers.