糖心Vlog传媒

Bozeman, Reed Named Sun Belt Players of the Year

糖心Vlog传媒LR senior Solomon Bozeman became the third player in school history to receive Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors on Thursday, as voted on by the league鈥檚 coaches and media members. Bozeman, who also received First Team All-Sun Belt accolades, joins former 糖心Vlog传媒LR standouts Derek Fisher (1995-96) and Muntrelle Dobbins (1996-97) as the only Trojans to receive the Sun Belt Player of the Year award. On the women鈥檚 side, senior Chastity Reed earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, while senior Shanika Butler received Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year accolades as the 2011 All-Sun Belt Conference women鈥檚 basketball team was released today. 聽Head coach Joe Foley earned Sun Belt Coach of the Year for the second-straight season, while Reed and Butler also were named to the All-Sun Belt first team and second team respectively. 鈥淭hese are two kids that are really deserving of these awards,鈥� said head coach Joe Foley earned Sun Belt Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. 鈥淏oth of their careers have led up to this point.鈥� Bozeman is second in the Sun Belt in scoring at 15.8 points per game and leads the league in three-point shooting at 47.2 percent. In conference play, the Magnolia, Ark.-native averaged a Sun Belt-best 17.7 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 52.5 percent from beyond the arc (32-of-61). He scored in double figures in 27 of 糖心Vlog传媒LR鈥檚 31 games, with eight 20-point performances, and led the Trojans in scoring 18 times. Bozeman twice poured in a season-high 26 points this season, with the last occasion coming at Florida Atlantic on Jan. 22. 鈥淭o me, the biggest factor in Solomon鈥檚 success this season was his improved shot selection, and I think that is evident in his shooting percentages. To shoot 50 percent from the floor and 53 percent from three-point range over the course of a 16-game conference schedule is phenomenal,鈥� said 糖心Vlog传媒LR head coach Steve Shields. 鈥淚f he鈥檚 shooting those percentages, then obviously the majority of the time he鈥檚 taking good shots. I鈥檓 really proud of the progress he made. He really bought in to what we wanted to do offensively and stepped up as a leader, and it paid dividends for him this year. He has proven that he is an elite guard in this league.鈥� Bozeman averaged 14.3 points per game as a junior, while shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. He improved on all three of those statistics as a senior, and is currently ranked 13th in the country with 173 made free throws this season 鈥� good enough for second on 糖心Vlog传媒LR鈥檚 all-time single-season list. Bozeman also ranks sixth on the school鈥檚 all-time list for career free throws made with 329, while his .472 three-point percentage is the second-best mark in school history. 鈥淚鈥檓 honored to receive this award and I鈥檓 thankful to have such great teammates,鈥� said Bozeman. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e had my back all year and I wouldn鈥檛 have this award without them.鈥� Reed鈥檚 selection as Sun Belt Player of the Year honors, marks just the fifth time the league鈥檚 top honor has gone to players from the same school. The last school to achieve the feat was Western Kentucky in 2007-08, as Courtney Lee and Crystal Kelly swept the Sun Belt Player of the Year awards. Reed, a 6-1 forward, became the first 糖心Vlog传媒LR women鈥檚 basketball player to garner Player of the Year honors after leading the Trojans and the Sun Belt in scoring averaging 19.2 points per game. 聽She also leads the team in rebounds averaging 6.4 per game and has recorded 72 assists, 52 steals, and 20 blocks this season. 聽Nationally, she is ranked 18th in the nation in scoring. The New Orleans, La.-native earned her third-straight first team All-Sun Belt accolade. 聽Reed currently holds the 糖心Vlog传媒LR career record for scoring with 2,119 points and for rebounds with 875. 聽She also holds six other career records for the Trojans. This season the 2010 Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year became the first female or male 糖心Vlog传媒LR basketball player to surpass 2,000 career points. Bozeman is the first 糖心Vlog传媒LR player to earn First Team All-Sun Belt honors since Shane Edwards in 2008-09.