University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Jones, Thorpe named to Big South Men's Basketball All-Conference Team
02.26.2021 | Men's Basketball
Jude earns All-Academic Team honors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Big South announced its 2020-21 Men's Basketball All-Conference Awards on Friday, with UNC Asheville's Tajion Jones being named Second-Team All-Conference with teammate LJ Thorpe garnering All-Conference Honorable Mention. Fellow junior Coty Jude was named to the Big South All-Academic Team. This year's format did not feature an All-Big South Third Team.
Taking on an expanded role, Jones led Asheville in scoring, averaging 16.0 points per game which ranked fifth in the Big South. The Oak Ridge, Tennessee, native was lights-out from downtown this season, averaging 3.47 three-pointers per game which currently ranks seventh in the NCAA. Jones' 66 made 3-pointers in just 19 games was a league best and still ranks 15th among Division I scorers. The redshirt junior was extremely efficient from the floor this season, ranking third in the Big South in field goal percentage (.475) and second in 3-point field goal percentage (.429). Scoring in  double figures in all but three games, Jones led the Bulldogs in scoring 10 times, knocking down three or more 3-pointers 13 times and five or more six times. This is Jones' first All-Conference honor.
"I'm really proud of the year he has had. He's really deserving of the honor," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell. "The way he's shot the basketball and what he's done from an offensive standpoint in terms of his ability to be effective from inside and outside the arc. He's just grown every single year as a person and as a player. He's made as much growth over a three-year period as any player I've ever coached."
After earning All-Big South Honorable Mention as a sophomore, Thorpe had a strong junior campaign, ranking third on the team in scoring with 11.9 points per game (13th, Big South) while hauling in the second-most rebounds on the team with 81 for the season (4.3). Like Jones, the redshirt junior from West Palm Beach, Florida, was extremely efficient from the floor, shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from 3-point range. A versatile player, Thorpe's 60 assists in 19 games tied him for ninth among Big South players with an average of 3.2 assists per game. Against Big South foes, Thorpe turned his game up, averaging 13.5 points per contest highlighted by performances at Longwood and against Charleston Southern in which he scored 18 and 12 points, respectively, in the second half to help lift the Bulldogs to wins. This is the third time Thorpe has garnered all-conference recognition, earning 2019-20 Big South Honorable Mention and 2020-21 Preseason Second Team All-Big South Honors.
"This is the second year in a row that LJ has been honorable mention, and he's deserving of every honor he gets and then some," said Morrell of Thorpe. "He's just a very unique player. He just loves basketball. He's had a really good year. He always expects more of himself, but just really proud of him"
After missing the first two games of the season due to injury, Jude was a welcome return to the Asheville lineup, averaging 7.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. A big with the ability to stretch the floor, Jude knocked down 33 threes which ranks second on the Bulldogs, shooting 37.5 percent from downtown. Shooting 40.8 percent from the floor, the junior from Fort Gay, West Virginia, registered double figure point totals seven times, including a 14-point performance that helped the Bulldogs hold off High Point for a 90-84 overtime victory on December 13. To earn all-academic status, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.0 GPA. A multiple-time member of the dean's list, Jude is a management major.
"That honor just speaks to how well-rounded of a human and how well-rounded of a player Coty is," Morrell said of Jude. "He takes being a student at UNC Asheville extremely seriously and he takes being a player at UNC Asheville extremely seriously. A well-deserved honor because Coty puts a lot of work to be a really good student just like he does a really good player."
2020-21 MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE
First-Team All-Conference
Chandler Vaudrin, G, R-Sr., Winthrop
Phlandrous Fleming Jr., G/F, Sr., Charleston Southern
Davion Warren, G/F, Sr., Hampton
John-Michael Wright, G, Soph., High Point
Jaheam Cornwall, G, Sr., Gardner-WebbÂ
Second-Team All-Conference
Cedric Henderson Jr., F, Jr., Campbell
Tajion Jones, G, Jr., UNC Asheville
Juan Munoz, G, R-Jr., Longwood
Rayshon Harrison, G, Fr., Presbyterian College
Jordan Whitfield, G, Sr., Campbell
Honorable Mention All-Conference
DJ Burns Jr., C, R-Soph., Winthrop
Tommy Bruner, G, Soph., USC Upstate
LJ Thorpe, G, R-Jr., UNC Asheville
Russell Dean, G, Soph., Hampton
Charles Falden, G, Sr., WinthropÂ
All-Freshman Team
Rayshon Harrison, G, Presbyterian College
Fah'Mir Ali, G, Radford
Justin Hill, G, Longwood
D'Maurian Williams, F, Gardner-Webb
Ahmil Flowers, G, High PointÂ
All-Academic Team
Austin McCullough, G, Sr., Campbell
Kareem Reid, F, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Emmanuel Izunabor, C, Soph., High Point
DeShaun Wade, G, Jr., Longwood
Owen McCormack, F, Soph., Presbyterian College
Jordan Hemphill, G, Jr., Radford
Coty Jude, F, Jr., UNC Asheville
Nevin Zink, C, Jr., USC Upstate
Kyle Zunic, G, Sr., Winthrop
Player of the Year
Chandler Vaudrin, G, R-Sr., WinthropÂ
Freshman of the Year
Rayshon Harrison, G, Presbyterian CollegeÂ
Defensive Player of the Year
Phlandrous Fleming Jr., G/F, Sr., Charleston SouthernÂ
Coach of the Year
Pat Kelsey, WinthropÂ
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Nevin Zink, C, Jr., USC Upstate
