Sunahara named NABC Player of the Year; Three SSC Players Named All-America
RJ Sunahara has been named the NABC National Player of the Year
Phil Wood | Sunshine State Conference
MELBOURNE, Fla. - After leading Nova Southeastern University to an undefeated season and their first national title in program history, RJ Sunahara has been named the National Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He was previously honored by both the NABC and the Division II Conference Coimmisoner's Association (D2CCA) as a First Team All-American selection. His head coach, Jim Crutchfield was named the NABC Coach of the Year. His teammate, Will Yoakum, has been named Second Team All-America by D2CCA, while Jadin Booth of Florida Southern was named All-America by the NABC.
Full Listing: SSC WBB All-Americans
All-Americans
Nova Southeastern's RJ Sunahara averaged 18.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season, as he helped lead the undefeated Sharks to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. He leads the Shakrs in field goal percentage, shooting 60.3% from the field. The 6-8 redshirt junior has appeared in 31 games this year.
His teammate, Will Yoakum, is third in the conference in shooting percentage, knocking down 58.4% of his field goal attempts. He led the Sharks with 19.5 points per game, which is currently fourth-best in the conference. The 6-5 graduate student from Delaware, Ohio has appeared in 33 games.
Florida Southern College's Jadin Booth led the Sunshine State Conference in scoring this season, averaging 22.0 points per game. He shot 40.8% from deep, finishing second in the conference of all qualifying shooters. The 6-2 sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska appeared in 27 games this year.
All-Region
Sunahara, Tokaum, and Booth were all named First Team All-South Region by both the D2CCA and NABC. Sunahara was named the South Region Player of the Year by the D2CCA. Florida Southern's EJ Dambreville and Florida Tech's Sean Houpt were each named to the D2CCA All-South Region Second Team. Dambreville was also named to the NABC Second Team. He was joined by Saint Leo University's Marty Jackson and Rollins College's Hutton Yenor.
In all, seven different players were named to All-South Region Teams.
D2CCA All-Americans
RJ Sunahara, Nova Southeastern (First Team)
Will Yoakum, Nova Southeastern (Second Team)
NABC All-Americans
RJ Sunahara, Nova Southeastern
Jadin Booth, Florida Southern
D2CCA All-South Region
RJ Sunahara, Nova Southeastern (First Team, POY)
Will Yoakum, Nova Southeastern (First Team)
Jadin Booth, Florida Southern (First Team)
EJ Dambreville, Florida Southern (Second Team)
Sean Houpt, Florida Tech (Second Team)
NABC All-South Region
RJ Sunahara, Nova Southeastern (First Team)
Will Yoakum, Nova Southeastern (First Team)
Jadin Booth, Florida Southern (First Team)
EJ Dambreville, Florida Southern (Second Team)
Marty Jackson, Saint Leo (Second Team)
Hutton Yenor (Rollins (Second Team)