Papa Dia And Derek Williams Named All-C-USA Third Team

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Papa Dia And Derek Williams Named All-Conference USA Third Team
First Time For Mustangs To Have Multiple Selections Since 2001-02

SMU faces UCF in the first round of the GMC Sierra C-USA Championship on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.

March 8, 2010

IRVING, Texas (SMU/C-USA) - SMU's junior forward Papa Dia and senior guard Derek Williams were selected to the 2010 All-Conference USA Third Team. It is the first time SMU has had multiple All-Conference selections since the 2001-02 season. The two helped SMU to its highest win total (7) and best finish (tied for 7th) in C-USA as well as its best seeding (No. 8) at the C-USA Championship. SMU faces No. 9-seed UCF in the first round of the GMC Sierra C-USA Championship on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.

Papa Dia is averaging 12.5 points (15th C-USA), 8.7 rebounds (5th C-USA), 1.3 blocks (6th C-USA), 1.3 assists, and 0.8 steals while shooting 54.1 percent (4th C-USA) from the field and 80.5 percent at the free throw line (5th C-USA). He has 8 or more rebounds 17 times this season and his 3.1 offensive rebounds per game are third in C-USA. In league games, he averaged 13.9 points (13th C-USA), 9.1 rebounds (4th C-USA), and 1.4 blocks (4th C-USA). He has ten double-doubles on the season, including sixth in C-USA games). His 16 rebounds at Tulane tied for the second-most in a C-USA game this year. Dia 23 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal in the 70-60 win against Memphis. He also had a career-high 31 points with 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal in 94-83 win over Houston. He concluded the regular-season with 18 points and 13 rebounds against Marshall.

Derek Williams leads the team in scoring at 16.6 per game (4th C-USA) and has scored 20 or more points 10 times, including six times in C-USA games. He is averaging 3.6 assists (10th C-USA) and has a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio (9th C-USA) in 36.3 minutes per game (3rd C-USA). In league play, he averaged 16.6 points (4th C-USA), 4.0 assists (9th C-USA) and has a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio (9th C-USA) while shooting 41.9 percent on field goals (15th C-USA) and 34.7 percent on 3-pointers. He led C-USA at 39.2 minutes per league game and played 40 minutes in ten C-USA games; missing just 13 minutes of game time in league play. Williams is on pace to be the highest ranked scorer for SMU since joining C-USA in 2005-06. He has 499 points this season and would be just the 17th player to score 500 points in a season.

Players from five different schools are represented on the 2010 All-Conference USA men's basketball first-team. Seniors Aubrey Coleman of Houston and Ben Uzoh of Tulsa are joined by juniors Elijah Millsap of UAB and Randy Culpepper of UTEP, along with sophomore Elliot Williams of Memphis. All five players are guards. Voting on the awards was done by the C-USA head coaches and media members in each conference city.

Coleman is a repeat first-team selection and has been the nation's leading scorer this season, averaging 26.0 points per game. The guard from Houston, Texas, scored 420 points during the conference regular season, the second-highest total in league history. Coleman, who has led UH in scoring in all but one game this season, enters this week's GMC Sierra C-USA Men's Basketball Championship with 1,400 points during his two years at UH. He was named C-USA Player of the Week five times this season.

Uzoh, a two-time second-team all-conference selection, leads Tulsa in scoring this season at 15.4 points per game, while adding 4.7 rebounds per game and 45 three-pointers made. He has moved into the top 10 in C-USA history in scoring, ranking seventh with 1,895 points. Uzoh is just the sixth player in Tulsa to history to score at least 400 points in three consecutive seasons.

Culpepper made the jump from the all-conference third team to the first team as he helped guide UTEP to its first C-USA title with a 15-1 league record. The junior from Memphis, Tenn., enters the C-USA Championship ranked third in C-USA in scoring at 18.1 points per game. Culpepper has led the Miners in scoring 14 times this season and has moved up fourth place in scoring all-time at UTEP with 1,597 points. He has topped the 30-point mark three times this year, including 45 points against East Carolina on Feb. 13, the most by any C-USA player this season and tied for second-most in league history.

Millsap burst onto the scene for UAB this season, averaging 16.0 points per game (fifth in C-USA), while leading the league in rebounding (9.3) from his guard position. He is one of only two guards to rank among the top 40 players in rebounding in Division I. Millsap, the brother of Utah Jazz star Paul Millsap, tops the conference in double-doubles with 15 (second-most in UAB history).

Elliott Williams has scored in double figures in 29 of 31 games this season and is currently averaging 18.5 points per game. He has topped the 20-point mark on 16 occasions, the fourth-highest single-season total in Tiger history. Williams also ranks in C-USA's top 10 in assists per game (3.8) and three-point field goals made (56).

The second team is comprised completely of forwards and centers. Marshall senior Tyler Wilkerson and freshman Hassan Whiteside (the only freshman all-conference selection) are joined by Southern Miss junior Gary Flowers, UTEP junior Derrick Caracter and Tulsa senior Jerome Jordan on the second unit.

SMU placed two student-athletes on the all-conference third team in Papa Dia and Derek Williams. The pair was joined by Memphis sophomore swingman Wesley Witherspoon and junior guards Brock Young of East Carolina and Aaron Johnson of UAB.

These 15 All-Conference players will be in action at this week's GMC Sierra C-USA Men's Basketball Championship, March 10-13 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

2009-10 ALL-CONFERENCE USA FIRST TEAM
Aubrey Coleman, Houston, G, 6-4, 200, Sr., Houston, Texas
Randy Culpepper, UTEP, G, Jr., 6-0, 165, Jr., Memphis, Tenn.
Elijah Millsap, UAB, G, Jr., 6-6, 211, Grambling, La.
Ben Uzoh, Tulsa, G, 6-3, 200, Sr., San Antonio, Texas
Elliot Williams, Memphis, G, 6-5, 180, So., Memphis, Tenn.

2009-10 ALL-CONFERENCE USA SECOND TEAM
Derrick Caracter, UTEP, F, 6-9, 275, Jr., Fanwood, N.J.
Gary Flowers, Southern Miss, F, 6-8, 214, Jr., Dallas, Texas
Jerome Jordan, Tulsa, C, 7-0, 245, Sr., Kingston, Jamaica
Hassan Whiteside, Marshall, F, 6-11, 235, Fr., Gastonia, N.C.
Tyler Wilkerson, Marshall, F, 6-8, 240, Sr., Lexington, Ky.

2009-10 ALL-CONFERENCE USA THIRD TEAM
Papa Dia, SMU, F, 6-9, 235, Jr., St. Louis, Senegal
Aaron Johnson, UAB, G, 5-8, 175, Jr., Chicago, Ill.
Derek Williams, SMU, G, 6-1, 170, Sr., Jamaica, N.Y.
Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis, F/G, 6-9, 210, So., Atlanta, Ga.
Brock Young, East Carolina, G, 5-11, 175, Jr., Raleigh, N.C.

[SMU00]

Granted, I haven't seen them play since I haven't been back to the States this year, but based on everything I've read on PonyFans about these two, the third team seems a little low, doesn't it?

[mrydel]

Nope

[Mestengo]

They should not EVEN have a third string.
That's kind of like a women telling you, your're the third best lover she's ever had.

[mrydel]

They should not EVEN have a third string.
That's kind of like a women telling you, your're the third best lover she's ever had.

I dream of hearing that some day.

[Mestengo]

I had one tell me I was the second best and was insulted.

What was it Ricky Bobby's daddy said? If you ain't first you're last


Sent from my iPhone

[mrydel]

I had one tell me I was the second best and was insulted.

What was it Ricky Bobby's daddy said? If you ain't first you're last


Sent from my iPhone

Next time I see my ex I will mention she insulted you.

[abezontar]

I had one tell me I was the second best and was insulted.

What was it Ricky Bobby's daddy said? If you ain't first you're last


Sent from my iPhone

That doesn't make any sense at all, you can be second, third, fourth... hell you can even be fifth.

[Mestengo]

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