2019 KJCCC Basketball All-Conference Basketball Teams
PDF of selections - https://kjccc.org/sports/mbkb/2018-19/2019_Awards
DIVISION I MEN'S ALL-CONFERENCE - BREWER, ROJAS TAPPED AS LEAGUE POTY'S IN 2019
Steve Carpenter
KJCCC Men's Division I Sports Information Chairperson
Coffeyville point guard Tevin Brewer and Hutchinson forward James Rojas were named the Jayhawk Conference's KJCCC East and KJCCC West Player of the Year on Friday as the KJCCC 2019 All-Conference men's basketball teams were released.
No. 3-ranked Coffeyville ran away in the Jayhawk East this season and swept the league's four major postseason awards. With Brewer being East Player of the Year, Quawn Marshall was the Defensive Player of the Year, Miekkel Murray was Freshman of the Year and Hall of Fame head coach Jay Herkelman was Coach of the Year.
In addition to Rojas on the West side, league and Region VI Champion Seward County racked up awards with sophomore Isiah Small earning Defensive Player of the Year honors, freshman Marco Morency and Colby's Eddie Davis were co-Freshmen of the Year and second-year head coach Jason Sauter was the West's Coach of the Year.
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
KJCCC EAST – TEVIN BREWER, Coffeyville
While the 2019 Red Ravens had plenty of talent, it was Brewer who was the driving force for Coffeyville to win the KJCCC East title and reach as high as No. 3 in the NJCAA national rankings.
Brewer, a 5-foot-8 sophomore from Fort Smith, Arkansas, averaged 12.0 points per game. He was fourth in the KJCCC in 3-point shooting (42.4 percent) and was No. 1 in the league in free-throw shooting at 91.6 percent). Brewer also averaged 4.0 assists, which ranked No. 4 in the KJCCC and is 3.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio was fourth in the league.
Brewer had a season-high 30 points on 7 of 9 3-point shooting against Northwest Tech on December 2. He had 11 games of five assists or more nine games of four steals or more.
KJCCC WEST – JAMES ROJAS, Hutchinson
The 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Jamestown, New York, missed five games in January because of injury. Since his return, the Blue Dragon forward has been practically unstoppable. Since his return, over the last 14 games, Rojas averaged 21.1 points per game while shooting while shooting 51 percent from the field.
The KJCCC's third-leading scorer this season, Rojas now averaged 19.0 points per game, shooting 50.4 percent overall, 38.4 percent from 3-point range and 79.5 percent from 3-point range.
He had a career-high 30 points in a double-overtime victory over No. 3 Coffeyville in the Region VI Tournament semifinals.
Rojas was a key cog in helping the Blue Dragons advance to their seventh-straight Region VI Tournament championship game.
COACH OF THE YEAR
KJCCC EAST – JAY HERKELMAN, Coffeyville
Now in his 24th season with the Red Ravens, Jay Herkelman surpasses Francis Flax as the winningest coach in Region VI history this season.
Herkelman's 2019 Red Ravens dominated the KJCCC East this season. Posting a 19-1 league record, the Red Ravens won the league by eight games over runner-up Cowley, the widest margin in Jayhawk Conference history. Coffeyville is 29-3 overall this season.
Coffeyville was the top scoring offense in the KJCCC this season at 88.9 points per game and the No. 2 defensive team in the league allowing 67.3 points per contest.
Herkelman's record at Coffeyville is now 632-184.
KJCCC WEST – JASON SAUTTER, Seward County
Seward County was picked third in the KJCCC Preseason Predicted Order of Finish, but a clear early signal where second-year head coach Jason Sauter was leading the Saints was a three-point loss to Top 5-ranked South Plains. The Saints learned from that experience to bounce No. 4 Coffeyville in the early stages of the KJCCC season and the Saints were off and rolling.
Sauter led the Saints to season sweeps of their closest competitors in the KJCCC West this season, Hutchinson and Barton. The Saints are 28-5 overall and went 21-3 in the league to capture the league title. Sauter and the Saints completed the run through the KJCCC by winning the program's sixth Region VI title and first since 2012.
Seward County was the second-best offensive team in the KJCCC this season at 81.4 points per game. The Saints had the best defensive team in the league at 67.1 points per contest.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
KJCCC EAST – MIEKKEL MURRAY, Coffeyville
Miekkel Murray was Coffeyville's third-leading scorer at 9.4 points per game, while shooting a blistering 62.7 percent from the field, which is tops in the KJCCC. Murray was eighth in the league in rebounds at 7.2 per game and had 28 blocked shots this season.
CO-KJCCC WEST – MARCO MORENCY, Seward County
Marco Morency was another player who got on a late-season role by averaging 22.9 points per game over his last seven. For the season, Morency averaged 15.4 points per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds per game.
CO-KJCCC WEST – EDDIE DAVIS, Colby
Eddie Davis' efforts this season helped Colby crack the Top 4 in the Jayhawk West. He averaged 13.5 points per game while shooting just shy of 50 percent for the season. Davis also averaged 6.6 rebounds per game. He had a pair of 27-point games to power the Trojans to a pair of big wins over Seward County and then Butler in the Region VI Tournament opening round.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
KJCCC EAST – QUAWN MARSHALL, Coffeyville
Quawn Marshall was a disruptive force this season with 62 total steals, which was third in the KJCCC this season. Marshall averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds.
KJCCC WEST – ISIAH SMALL, Seward County
Isiah Small was Seward County's guy who did all the little things that made a huge difference. He averaged 6.7 rebounds per game, blocked 1.8 shots per game and had 1.3 steals per game. He also chipped in 14.7 points per game while shooting 62.6 percent from the field.
Highland's Mason, Johnson County's Turner and Labette's Kennedy Earn Men's D-II Basketball Honors
KJCCC – Jayhawk D-II co-champions Highland and Johnson County earned three of the major awards presented to the league's top players for 2018-19.
Highland sophomore guard Taiveyhon Mason was named the D-II Player of the Year after leading his team to a 28-3 record, a share of a conference title and a No. 1 national ranking in the final poll of the season.
Johnson County sophomore forward David Turner was named the D-II Defensive Player of the Year and Labette freshman forward Keondre Kennedy was named the D-II Freshman of the Year.
The D-II Coach of the Year honor went Highland head coach Jere Cole.
Taiveyhon Mason, Highland – D-II Player of the Year
Taiveyhon Mason had a tremendous sophomore season for the Scotties pouring 20.5 points a game, which led the conference. He also led the conference in total points with 637, made field goals with 243 and steals with 77. He also ranked in the top 10 in field goal accuracy (56.3-5th), made 3-point field goals (49-6th), made free throws (102-3rd), free throw accuracy (71.3-8th) and assists (96-6th).
Four times this season Mason was selected the D-II Conference Player of the Week, earning the honor in weeks 2, 7 13 and 14.
Mason reached a personal milestone in the final game of the regular season when he topped 1,000 points for his career. He went on to tally 1,056 for an average of 16.2 over his two seasons at Highland.
David Turner, Johnson County – D-II Defensive Player of the Year
In his two season at Johnson County, David Turner has be a wrecking crew in the paint to opposing team, particularly this season. He leads the conference and ranks second in the NJCAA with 93 blocked shots. He as tallied 154 career blocks, both totals are school records. Turner also leads the conference in offensive rebounds (87), defensive rebounds (186) total rebounds (273) and rebound average (8.5). He also averaged 13.5 points per game and lead the conference in field goal accuracy at 65.6 percent.
Five times this season Turner was selected the D-II Conference Player of the Week, earning the honor in weeks 10, 11, 12, 15 and 16.
Keondre Kennedy, Labette – D-II Freshman of the Year
Keondre Kennedy got his collegiate career of to an impressive start as he led the Cardinals in nearly every statistical category. He led the team in point scored (584), points per game average (18.3), rebounds (209), rebound per game average (6.5), field goals (211), 3-point field goals (69), free throws (93), blocks (18) and tied for the lead in steals (41).
His 18.3 points per game average rank second in the conference, along with his 211 made field goals and 69 3-pointers. He also ranks third in in total rebounds, fourth in free throws and offensive rebounds (75) and sixth in 3-point field goal accuracy (39.9), free throw accuracy (72.7) and rebound average.
Jere Cole, Highland – D-II Coach of the Year
For the second time in three years, Jere Cole has been awarded the Kansas Jayhawk D-II Coach of the Year honor. This year Cole guided the Scotties to 18 straight wins to open the campaign and worked their way up the national ranking all the way No. 1 in the final NJCAA D-II Poll of the season. Highland would go on to finish the season 28-3 overall and earn a share of the D-II Conference title, the program's second in three seasons.
During the season, Cole also surpassed Francis Flax to become the all-time wins leader in the program's history. Through 10 season, he has compiled a record of 190-132.