March 7, 2010
2009-10 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Teams (PDF)
NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Senior Yves Mekongo was named the Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year to highlight La Salle's all-conference awards announced today by the league office. Senior Rodney Green earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors and freshman Aaric Murray was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team in voting conducted by the league's head coaches. Mekongo was also named to the Academic All-Atlantic 10 team for the third straight season.
Mekongo recently earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first-team distinction. The senior forward from Elizabeth, N.J., boasts a 3.81 grade point average while majoring in Integrated Science, Business & Technology. A second-team Academic All-American a year ago, Mekongo averaged 11.0 points and finished his career with 1,014 points.
Combined with Morgan Robertson winning the Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, La Salle joins a select group of institutions that have had the men's and women's basketball student-athletes of the year during the same season. Saint Louis' Theresa and Kevin Lisch won the awards in 2009 and Saint Joseph's Bill Phillips and Susan Moran did the same in 2002.
Green earns second team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season. He led the Explorers with an 18.5 scoring average, ranking third in the Atlantic 10. The Philadelphia native also averaged 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in his final campaign. Green ends his career ninth on the all-time points (1,914) and assists (390) lists at La Salle.
Murray averaged 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in his first season on 20th and Olney. The Philadelphia product was also second among freshman nationally in blocks per game (2.4) and his 70 rejections are second in a season at La Salle behind Lionel Simmons' 77 in 1988-89.
He is joined on the All-Rookie team by A-10 Rookie of the Year Chris Gaston of Fordham, Chris Braswell of Charlotte, Cody Ellis of Saint Louis, George Washington's Lasan Kromah and Rhode Island's Akeem Richmond.
Junior guard Kevin Anderson of Richmond was named the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference's 14 head coaches.
The A-10 coaches also selected Chris Johnson of Dayton as the recipient of the Chris Daniels Award as the league's most improved player, Temple's Ramone Moore as Sixth Man of the Year, Damian Saunders of Duquesne as Defensive Player of the Year and Temple's Fran Dunphy as Coach of the Year.
Anderson is joined on the All-Conference first-team by Lavoy Allen of Temple, Xavier's Jordan Crawford, Damian Saunders of Duquesne and Dayton's Chris Wright. For the first time in the league's 34-year history, the first-team All-Conference consists of only sophomores and juniors.
The All-Conference second-team includes Temple's Ryan Brooks, David Gonzalvez of Richmond, Green, Kwamain Mitchell of Saint Louis and St. Bonaventure's Andrew Nicholson. Teammates Keith Cothran and Delroy James of Rhode Island, Massachusetts' Ricky Harris, Jason Love of Xavier and Charlotte's Shamari Spears were named to the third team. Temple's Juan Fernandez, Damian Hollis of George Washington and Willie Reed of Saint Louis earned honorable mention acclaim.
The All-Defensive team is comprised of Saunders, Allen, Gonzalvez, Dayton's London Warren and Garrett Williamson of Saint Joseph's. Allen, Warren and Williamson are repeat selections.
Joining Mekongo on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team are Brian Conklin of Saint Louis, Duquesne's Jason Duty, Kurt Huelsman of Dayton and Rhode Island's Will Martell.
