Johnson, Church land on All-MVC Teams

037a8299-2

ST. LOUIS – Missouri State was well represented on the first day of Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball postseason awards announced Tuesday with junior Alize Johnson (F, Williamsport, Pa.) and Obediah Church (So., Springfield, Ill.) earning league laurels.

Johnson was named to the All-MVC first team and the MVC All-Newcomer Team. Church was recognized as a member of the MVC All-Defensive Team, as voted by conference coaches, media representatives and communications personnel.

A two-time Valley Player of the Week and six-time Valley Newcomer of the Week, Johnson led the conference in rebounding at 10.5 per game, which ranks 11th nationally.He also leads MSU in scoring at 14.5 points per game while producing 16 double-doubles – the 13th-most in the nation — with 20 double-figure rebounding games. He enters the postseason with the second-highest season rebounding total of Missouri State’s Division I era (327) while converting 48.8 percent of his field goals and 39 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Johnson is the first Missouri State player since Kyle Weems (2011 and 2012) and the 12thplayer overall to earn All-MVC first-team distinction.

Church has started 24 of his 29 appearances this season and accounted for a league-high 71 blocked shots and 15 steals. He ranks 20th nationally with 2.45 blocks per game and is 18th in total blocks. One of the most-improved players in the league, Church converted 63.8 percent of his field goals this season, averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with 39 assists.

Church is the 11th MSU player to land a spot on the All-Defensive Team and first since Jermaine Mallett in 2011.

The MVC also announced its All-Freshman Team on Monday with additional award releases slated for Wednesday and Thursday. The 2017 MVC Tournament gets underway Thursday night at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Missouri State is the No. 6 seed for Arch Madness and will take on No. 3 seed Northern Iowa on Friday at 8:35 p.m. The game will air live on FOX Sports Midwest and the MVC Television Network.

2017 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Team

First Team

Milton Doyle, Loyola, Sr., G, 6-4, Chicago (Ill.) Marshall High/Kansas

Alize Johnson, Missouri State, Jr., F, 6-9, Williamsport (Pa.) St. John Neumann High/Frank Phillips College

Paris Lee, Illinois State, Sr., G, 6-0, Maywood (Ill.) Proviso East High

Markis McDuffie, Wichita State, So., F, 6-8, Paterson (N.J.) St. Anthony High

Landry Shamet, Wichita State, Fr., G, 6-4, Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill High

Second Team

Jaylon Brown, Evansville, Sr., G, 6-0, Fishers (Ind.) High

Deontae Hawkins, Illinois State, Sr., F, 6-8, Dayton (Ohio) Quakerdale Promise Academy

MiKyle McIntosh, Illinois State, Jr., F, 6-7, Pickering (Ontario, Canada) 22ft Academy

Jeremy Morgan, UNI, Sr., G, 6-5, Coralville (Iowa) Iowa City West High

Sean O’Brien, Southern Illinois, Sr., F, 6-7, Mundelein (Ill.) High

Third Team

Conner Frankamp, Wichita State, Jr., G, 6-1, Wichita (Kan.) Univ. of Kansas

Donte Ingram, Loyola, Jr., G/F, 6-6, Chicago (Ill.) Simeon High

Shaquille Morris, Wichita State, Jr., C, 6-8, Edmond (Okla.) Memorial High

Brenton Scott, Indiana State, Jr., G, 6-1, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrup High

Reed Timmer, Drake, Jr., G, 6-1, New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower High

All-Newcomer Team

Phil Fayne, Illinois State, So., F, 6-9, Elk Grove (Calif.) Franklin High

Aundre Jackson, Loyola, Jr., F, 6-5, Kennedale (Texas) High

Alize Johnson, Missouri State, Jr., F, 6-9, Williamsport (Pa.) St. John Neumann High/ Frank Phillips College

Landry Shamet, Wichita State, Fr., G, 6-4, Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill High

Darral Willis Jr., Wichita State, Jr., F, 6-9, Madison (Wis.) Pearl River (Miss.) CC

All-Freshman Team

Koch Bar, Bradley, C, 6-11, Abyei (South Sudan) Arlington Co. Day School

Jordan Barnes, Indiana State, G, 5-11, St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers High

Darrell Brown Jr., Bradley, G, 5-10, Memphis (Tenn.) Germantown High

Spencer Haldeman, UNI, G, 6-1, Peosta (Iowa) Western Dubuque

Landry Shamet, Wichita State, G, 6-4, Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill High

Dru Smith, Evansville, G, 6-3, Evansville (Ind.) Reitz High

All-Defensive Team

Thik Bol, Southern Illinois, Jr., F, 6-8, Omaha (Neb.) Iowa Western CC

Zach Brown, Wichita State, Jr., F, 6-6, Houston (Texas) Sunrise Christian Academy

Obediah Church, Missouri State, So., F, 6-7, Springfield (Ill.) High

Paris Lee, Illinois State, Sr., G, 6-0, Maywood (Ill.) Proviso East High

Jeremy Morgan, UNI, Sr., G, 6-5, Coralville (Iowa) Iowa City West High

Tony Wills, Illinois State, Sr., G, 6-4, Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis High

Related Posts

Loading...