MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Sunshine State Conference recognizes thirteen men's basketball student-athletes as All-SSC in 2022-23. Nova Southeastern University, SSC regular-season champion, boasts six All-SSC awards, including Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Coach of the Year.
RJ Sunahara of Nova Southeastern is selected as the conference Player of the Year. The 6-8 junior forward averaged 19.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.6 steals, and 24.6 minutes per game this season. The Bay Village, Ohio native totaled 491 points across his 25 regular-season starts with a league-leading .621 field goal percentage. Sunaraha is the second NSU athlete to win Player of the Year honors in men's basketball
1. The Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year award is sponsored by
College Ave Student Loans.
SSC Men's Basketball History: ALL-SSC Teams | Players & Coaches of the Year | Conference Champions | National Champions | Record Book
Jalen Cooper garners Defensive Player of the Year accolades, making him the first Palm Beach Atlantic University men's basketball athlete to win the award. The 6-6 sophomore forward from Holiday, Florida, registered 7.0 defensive rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.2 steals, and 31.3 minutes per game across his 26 contests. Cooper finished the regular season Top-3 in SSC rebounds (222), defensive rebounds (181), total blocks (37), and blocks per game.
Will Yoakum from NSU is decorated as the league’s Newcomer of the Year. The 6-5 senior guard from Delaware, Ohio, is seventh in SSC points per game 18.4 points and third in steals per game 2.0. Yoakum is the fourth Shark to be named Newcomer of the Year
2, second consecutive.
Nordin Kapic becomes the first Lynn men's basketball athlete to win SSC Freshman of the Year honors since 2001-02
3. The 6-8 forward from Vienna, Austria, led the league in rebounding with 10.4 boards per game and was fifth in league scoring at 19.3 points per game. Kapic played in all 25 games for the Fighting Knights this season, leading his team in fifteen statistical categories.
NSU's Jim Crutchfield has been recognized as the SSC Coach of the Year by his peers for the third time following a 27-0 regular season and 20-0 conference record. Crutchfield and the Sharks captured the program's third SSC title
4 by averaging 104.4 points per game and recording a turnover margin of +27.3, both NCAA Division II bests. The 2022-23 Sharks are the second undefeated team in conference play since the 1981-82 expansion
5, matching the accomplishment of Crutchfield’s 2021-22 NSU team.
Sunahara and Hutton Yenor of Rollins repeat as First Team honorees from 2021-22. Sunahara was also named Defensive Player of the Year in 2021-22 and Freshman of the Year in 2019-20. Florida Southern College's EJ Dambreville earns his third consecutive All-SSC honor following a Second Team nod last year and a First Team accolade in 2020-21. Sesan Russell from Florida Tech earns Second Team honors this year following his First Team award in 2020-21.
All-conference selections and individual award winners are determined by a vote of Sunshine State Conference head coaches with oversight and approval from member institution Athletic Directors.
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Player of the Year: RJ Sunahara, Nova Southeastern
Defensive Player of the Year: Jalen Cooper, Palm Beach Atlantic
Newcomer of the Year: Will Yoakum, Nova Southeastern
Freshman of the Year: Nordin Kapic, Lynn
Coach of the Year: Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern
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2022-23 Men's Basketball All-SSC First Team
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Pos.
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Name
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School
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Yr.
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Hometown
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F
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RJ Sunahara*!Δ‡
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Nova Southeastern
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Jr.
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Bay Village, Ohio
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G
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Jadin Booth
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Florida Southern
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So.
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Omaha, Neb.
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G
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Hutton Yenor*
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Rollins
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Sr.
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Orlando, Fla.
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G
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Will Yoakum
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Nova Southeastern
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Sr.
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Delaware, Ohio
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G
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EJ Dambreville^†
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Florida Southern
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Gr.
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Dorchester, Mass.
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2022-23 Men's Basketball All-SSC Second Team
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Pos.
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Name
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School
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Yr.
|
Hometown
|
|
G
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Sesan Russell†
|
Florida Tech
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Sr.
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London, England
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G
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Kanon Koster
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Saint Leo
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Gr.
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Kearney, Neb.
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F
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Marty Jackson
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Saint Leo
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Sr.
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Kansas City, Mo.
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G
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Sean Houpt
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Florida Tech
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Sr.
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Danville, Ill.
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G/F
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Jalen Cooper
|
Palm Beach Atlantic
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So.
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Holiday, Fla.
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F
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Chris Murray
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Embry-Riddle
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Sr.
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Miami, Fla.
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2022-23 Men's Basketball All-SSC Newcomer Team
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Pos.
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Name
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School
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Yr.
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Hometown
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|
G
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Will Yoakum
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Nova Southeastern
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Sr.
|
Delaware, Ohio
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F
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Marty Jackson
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Saint Leo
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Sr.
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Kansas City, Mo.
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G
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Kanon Koster
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Saint Leo
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Gr.
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Kearney, Neb.
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F
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Nordin Kapic
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Lynn
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Fr.
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Vienna, Austria
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G
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Carr Thiam
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Eckerd
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So.
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Detroit, Mich.
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* = 2021-22 All-SSC First Team
^ = 2021-22 All-SSC Second Team
! = 2021-22 Defensive of the Year
† = 2020-21 All-SSC First Team
Δ = 2019-20 Freshman of the Year
‡ = 2019-20 All-SSC Newcomer Team
1 NSU Players of the Year: Sekou Sylla (2021-22)
2 NSU Newcomers of the Year: David Dennis (2017-18), Mark Matthes (2018-19), Sekou Sylla (2021-22)
3 Lynn Freshman of the Year: Leandro Garcia-Morales (2000-01), James Taylor (2001-02)
4 NSU previously won the SSC regular-season title in 2018-19 and 2021-22, the same year’s Cruchfield was named Coach of the Year.
5 The SSC increased from six to seven men’s basketball programs in 1981-82. Prior to NSU, the last undefeated conference season was in 1979-80 (Florida Southern)
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