Bennett, Brogdon and Anderson Earn USBWA District 3 Awards

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March 10, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sixth-year Virginia head coach Tony Bennett was named 2014-15 U.S. Basketball Writers Association District 3 Coach of the Year, while Malcolm Brogdon (Atlanta, Ga.) and Justin Anderson (Montross, Va.) were named to the USBWA All-District 3 Team, announced Tuesday (March 10) by USBWA. Bennett and Brogdon earned their respective honors for the second consecutive season.

Bennett has guided No. 3/4 Virginia to a 28-2 overall record and a 16-2 ACC finish that produced the program’s second consecutive outright regular-season conference title. The Cavaliers, who were picked to finish fourth in the preseason by the media, became the first ACC school to win 16 or more games in back-to-back seasons. Bennett’s Cavaliers lead the nation in scoring defense at 50.3 points per game and Virginia has been ranked in the top five for 12 consecutive weeks.

Under Bennett’s guidance, Virginia secured its fourth straight season with 23 or more wins for the first time since 1981-83. Bennett, who has earned four USBWA District Coach of the Year honors during his nine seasons as a head coach, is a finalist for the USBWA National Coach of the Year. Bennett was the consensus National Coach of the Year as head coach at Washington State in 2007.

Brogdon, who earned All-ACC First Team honors, leads Virginia in scoring at 13.7 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 24 of 30 games, including a pair of 20-point games. Brogdon was named ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year by the ACC coaches. He led the ACC by shooting 89.7 percent from the free throw line in conference games. Brogdon joins Joe Harris (2013-14), Sean Singletary(2006-09), Travis Watson(2002-03), Junior Burrough (1994-95) and Bryant Stith (1990-92) as Cavaliers to earn multiple USBWA All-District honors.

Anderson earns his first USBWA All-District 3 honor despite missing the last eight games of the season due to a fractured finger suffered on Feb. 7 and an appendectomy on March 5. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game and was leading the ACC in 3-point percentage at 48.4 percent when he was injured.

No. 1 seed Virginia will play No. 8 seed Clemson or No. 9 seed Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12. Tipoff at Greensboro Coliseum is set for 12 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN and the ACC Network.

USBWA District 3 Player of the Year
Jahlil Okafor, Duke

USBWA Coach of the Year
Tony Bennett, Virginia

USBWA All-District 3 Team
Justin Anderson, Virginia
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Quinn Cook, Duke
Tyus Jones, Duke
Trevor Lacey, NC State
Jahlil Okafor, Duke
Marcus Paige, North Carolina
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Dez Wells, Maryland
Justise Winslow, Duke