Bennett, Brogdon and Gill Earn USBWA District 3 Awards
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March 8, 2016
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Virginia head coach Tony Bennett and senior guard Malcolm Brogdon (Atlanta, Ga.) received top U.S. Basketball Writers Association District 3 honors on Tuesday (March 8).
Bennett was named USBWA District 3 Coach of Year and Brogdon was named Player of the Year. In addition, Virginia senior forward Anthony Gill joined Brogdon on the USBWA All-District 3 team.
Bennett earned his third consecutive USBWA District 3 Coach of the Year honor after leading No. 4 Virginia to a 24-6 record and 13-5 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers have posted six wins against ranked opponents and have earned the No. 2 seed at the ACC Tournament. Bennett’s Cavaliers ranked third nationally in scoring defense at 59.6 points per game and Virginia has been ranked in the top 10 for six consecutive weeks.
Brogdon earned his first USBWA District 3 player of the year honor and third consecutive All-District award. Brogdon joins former UVA star Bryant Stith as the only Cavaliers to earn district player of the year accolades. Brogdon and Stith are the only Cavaliers to earn three USBWA All-District honors.
Brogdon was named ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after averaging a career-high 18.4 points. His 19.9 points per game in ACC play was the highest at UVA since 2007-08. Brogdon ranks fourth in the ACC in scoring and has 15 20-point games in 2015-16. Brogdon headlines UVA’s third-ranked defense, which yields 59.6 points per game.
Gill earns his first USBWA All-District 3 honor after ranking second in the ACC in field goal shooting (55.6%), 18th in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and 23rd in scoring (13.6 ppg).
No. 2 seed Virginia will play No. 7 seed Clemson (17-13) or No. 10 seed Georgia Tech (18-13) in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10. Tipoff at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN and the ACC Network.
USBWA District 3 Player of the Year
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
USBWA Coach of the Year
Tony Bennett, Virginia
USBWA All-District 3 Team
Grayson Allen, Duke
Anthony Barber, N.C. State
Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Michael Carrera, South Carolina
Jack Gibbs, Davidson
Anthony Gill, Virginia
Brandon Ingram, Duke
Brice Johnson, North Carolina
Melo Trimble, Maryland