University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldog Pair Named to NCCSIA All-State Team
06.21.2016 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A pair of UNC Asheville men's basketball players have been honored for their play this season, as Sam Hughes and Ahmad Thomas were each named Second Team All-State performers by the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) late Tuesday afternoon.
A total of 10 players representing seven different North Carolina universities were named to the 2015-2016 NCCSIA University Division All-State First and Second Teams. Nominees were submitted by North Carolina sports information professionals and voted on by the NCCSIA members.
Thomas finished his sophomore campaign with the most total steals in the Big South (71) and the highest steals per game average (2.1) while finishing the year with the 17th-most steals by a single player across the country at the NCAA Division I level. His steals per game average was the 20th-best in the nation in the category. A top-10 Big South player in total rebounds per game average (6.6), he had the fifth-best defensive rebound average in the league (5.0) as 75 percent of his boards came on the defensive end of the floor.
Hughes started the last 30 games straight for Asheville, finishing as one of five players to average double-figures scoring (10.9 per). The lone senior in the Asheville's main rotation, Hughes had the 13th-best steals per game average (1.3) and was sixth in the Big South in blocks per game (1.3) while tallying the fifth-most total blocks (44), leading Asheville in both categories.
The pair helped Asheville to a 22-12 overall record, the Big South Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y., falling to the eventual national champions, Villanova.
Founded in 2002, The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) is comprised of sports information professionals from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions from the state of North Carolina. The purpose of the organization is to promote collegiate athletics at all schools. Membership is open to anyone affiliated with a college, university or conference located in North Carolina, and whose area of responsibility lies within sports information.
The NCCSIA selects all-state teams in the University (Division I) and College (Division II, III, NAIA) divisions for men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, softball and baseball.
