Bennett, Brogdon and Harris Earn USBWA District 3 Awards

Story Links

March 11, 2014

ST. LOUIS – Fifth-year Virginia head coach Tony Bennett was named 2013-14 U.S. Basketball Writers Association District 3 Coach of the Year, while redshirt sophomore Malcolm Brogdon (Norcross, Ga.) and senior Joe Harris (Chelan, Wash.) were named to the USBWA All-District 3 Team, announced Tuesday (March 11) by USBWA.

In 2013-14, Bennett has guided Virginia to a 25-6 overall record and a 16-2 ACC finish that produced the program’s first outright regular-season conference title since 1981. The Cavaliers, who were picked to finish fourth in the preseason by media in attendance at the ACC’s Operation Basketball, tied the conference record for league wins in a season and will head to this week’s ACC Tournament in Greensboro as the No. 1 seed.

Bennett’s Cavaliers lead the nation in scoring defense at 55.4 points per game and Virginia’s 13 consecutive ACC wins from January 18 through March 1 are a school record. Virginia clinched its third consecutive ACC winning season (16-2, 11-7, 9-7) for the first time since 1981-83. With 16 ACC wins, Virginia joined Georgia Tech (1982-86) as the only ACC schools to improve their ACC records in five consecutive seasons. Virginia also set a school record with by winning 12 ACC games by 10 or more points.

Under Bennett’s guidance, Virginia secured its third straight 20-win season for the first time since 1991-93. The Cavaliers are also one of three teams (NC Central and Southeast Missouri State) in the nation to improve its win total in each of the past five seasons.

In 2006-07, Bennett earned USBWA National Coach of the Year and Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors as head coach at Washington State. He is a top-10 finalist for the USBWA National Coach of the Year this season. Bennett earned USBWA District 9 Coach of the Year honors at Washington State in 2007 and USBWA District 3 Coach of Year honors at Virginia in 2012.

Brogdon, who earned All-ACC honors yesterday, is averaging team highs in points (12.6 ppg), steals (1.3 spg) and free throw percentage (89.3%), and is second in rebounding (5.6 rpg) and 3-point field goal percentage (38.8%). Brogdon became the 13th Cavalier to earn first-team All-ACC honors after ranking first in free throw percentage (88.8%), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4) and 12th in scoring (14.8 ppg) during ACC play. Brogdon was the only player to reach double figures in scoring in all 18 ACC contests. He tallied a career-high 19 points, five rebounds and five assists in Virginia’s ACC regular-season title clinching win over Syracuse.

Harris, who has earned All-ACC in each of the past two seasons, is second on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game. Harris had a season-high 20 points against Hampton (Nov. 26) and scored 19 points in Virginia’s win over Maryland (Feb. 10) and 18 in a win against Florida State (Jan. 18). He averaged 11.6 points per game during ACC play, reaching double figures in 12 games. Harris ranked fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (42.1%) and tied for eighth in made 3-point field goals per game (2.2) during league action.

No. 1 seed Virginia (25-6, 16-2 ACC) will play No. 8 seed Maryland or No. 9 seed Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, March 14. Tipoff at Greensboro Coliseum is set for 12 p.m. ET.

USBWA District 3 Player of the Year
Jabari Parker, Duke

USBWA District 3 Coach of the Year
Tony Bennett, Virginia

USBWA All-District 3 Team
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Traveon Graham, VCU
Joe Harris, Virginia
Rodney Hood, Duke
K.J. McDaniels, Clemson
James Michael McAdoo, N. Carolina
Marcus Paige, North Carolina
Jabari Parker, Duke
T.J. Warren, N.C. State
Dez Wells, Maryland