I don't normally mention too much about women's hoops. There are not enough hours in the day for me to do three sports (hence I dropped off on Hockey a bit). Mens Basketball and Football is where the interest seems to be unless you're a program like UConn.
Today along with McCrea winning the freshman of the year award Kourtney Brown won the player of the year on the women's side of things.
This is the second consecutive year for Brown who has done everything humanly possible to bring respectability to Buffalo basketball. With the recent win over Ball State the Bulls made it to Cleveland for the second consecutive year, a feat for a team that has been pretty bad historically.
While Brown would be quick to point out the amazing athletes that she shares the floor with she is the face of UB Basketball. Maybe the most singly dominant player within the MAC conference to come out of Buffalo in recent history.
Show me the last time a Buffalo Athlete was picked twice as player of the year, on a team who finished in the middle of the conference. That's how good Brown is. Show me the last time a UB Alumni is projected as going in the second round of a professional draft.
That's how good Brown is!
BUFFALO, NY (UB Athletics) – The Mid-American Conference announced on Tuesday morning that senior Kourtney Brown has been named the MAC Player of the Year, the first player in school history to win the honor. Brown also repeated for a second straight season as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year and on the All-MAC First Team.
Brown becomes just the second UB basketball player, joining men's standout Turner Battle, as MAC Player of the Year and just the second player in conference history to win both the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. She is also just the third player in conference history to win Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Brown leads the conference and is in the top 10 in the nation in scoring (22.1), rebounding (11.7), field goal percentage (.595) and blocks (3.3). She is also just one of two players in the nation to average over 22.0 points and 11.0 rebounds this season.
Brown has been named MAC East Player of the Week a conference-high five times this year and became the league's all-time leading shot blocker, breaking a record that has stood for 22 years. Her 663 points on the year are seventh in MAC history and her 352 rebounds are currently third most ever in the MAC. Her 99 blocks on the season are second most in conference history as well and more than all but three teams total numbers this season.
"This honor for Kourtney is well deserved and something we knew she was capable of when she came here to Buffalo," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "She earned this recognition with the hard work she displayed every time she stepped out on the court. She was the focus of everyone's defense and still found ways to be successful despite double and triple teams.
"The fact that she was also named Defensive Player of the Year is pretty phenomenal and a testament to her hard work on both ends of the floor. To lead the conference in blocks and be amongst our team leaders in steals is something that I think caught the voters' attention. These recognitions were made possible not only by Kourtney's hard work, but the hard work and effort of our entire team and coaching staff."
Brown was joined on the All-MAC First Team by Akron's Rachel Tecca, Bowling Green's Lauren Prochaska, Tavelyn James of Eastern Michigan and Naama Shafir of Toledo.
Brown and the Bulls continue MAC Tournament play tomorrow afternoon as they face Central Michigan in the Quarterfinals at 2:30 pm at Quicken Loans Arena.