University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Pember Named Big South Player of the Year for Second Consecutive Year
03.05.2024 | Men's Basketball
BIG SOUTH RELEASE
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the second consecutive year, UNC Asheville's Drew Pember has been named the Big South Player of the Year by the league's head coaches and media panel, which was announced Tuesday afternoon by the conference office.
Pember headlined the All-Big South First Team, Josh Banks was named to the Honorable Mention team, and Fletcher Abee was Asheville's All-Academic Team honoree.
Pember is the first back-to-back Player of the Year recipient for the Big South since Art Parakhouski of Radford from 2008-10. Pember is the second individual from Asheville to earn back-to-back Player of the Year honors, as Josh Pittman earned the award for the Bulldogs from 1996-98. Pember is the fifth individual in Big South annals to earn the award back-to-back years.
Another standout season for the Knoxville, Tennessee, native as Pember led the league in scoring (20.4 ppg), blocks (57), and defensive boards (197). Pember, Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award Watch List honoree, is No. 5 in the nation in free throws made (210) and free throw attempts (248). Pember recorded seven double-doubles this season and one triple-double, the third in program history. Pember is one of 26 individuals in the nation to record a triple-double.
Pember is No. 2 on the team in assists with 102 and No. 6 in the Big South.
Pember's best performance this season came on February 3 in an 82-78 victory over Winthrop, where he scored 36 points, going 11-for-16 from the field, 6-for-11 from distance, and recorded 11 rebounds.
Banks is averaging 13.0 points per game in 2023-24. He has a .397 3-point shooting percentage, a .423 field goal percentage, and a .870 free throw percentage. Banks broke the school record for most 3-pointers in a single game on Dec. 20, as Banks knocked down 10 triples in a 76-63 victory over Appalachian State.
Abee, the Morganton, N.C. native, earns a spot on the conference All-Academic team for the second year in a row. Off the court, Abee has been named to the 2023 National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court, was named to the 2023 Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team, and earned a spot on the 2022-23 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. On the court, Abee is averaging 11 points a game and leads the team and Big South in 3-point field goals per game with 2.3 and total field goals with 72. Abee leads Asheville with a .424 3-point percentage. Abee's top game of the season came on Nov. 18 against Virginia-Lynchburg, where he knocked down nine 3-pointers to break the 3-point record before Banks.
Asheville will open play at the 2024 Hercules Big South Men's Basketball Championships on Friday evening in the tournament's quarterfinal round in the Qubein Center. The Bulldogs will play Charleston Southern with tip-off for that matchup set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+. If you can't make it to High Point, join fellow Bulldog fans at Salt Face Mule Brewing Co. to watch the game. Salt Face will be streaming all Big South Tournament games for UNC Asheville.
The full list of All-Conference honorees is listed below.
2023-24 MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE
First-Team All-Conference
Drew Pember, UNC AshevilleDuke Miles, High Point
Kimani Hamilton, High Point
Kezza Giffa, High Point
Kelton Talford, Winthrop
Second-Team All-Conference
DaQuan Smith, RadfordWalyn Napper, Longwood
Marquis Barnett, Presbyterian
Caleb Robinson, Gardner-Webb
Trae Broadnax, USC Upstate
Honorable Mention All-Conference
DQ Nicholas, Gardner-WebbTaje' Kelly, Charleston Southern
RJ Johnson, Charleston Southern
Josh Banks, UNC Asheville
A'lahn Sumler, Charleston Southern
All-Freshman Team
Juslin Bodo Bodo, High PointKory Mincy, Presbyterian
Emanuel Richards, Longwood
Titas Sargiunas, High Point
Jaiden Thompson, Charleston Southern
All-Academic Team
Taje' Kelly, Charleston SouthernLucas Stieber, Gardner-Webb
Jesper Granlund, Longwood
Trevon Reddish-Rhone, Presbyterian
Chandler Turner, Radford
Fletcher Abee, UNC Asheville
Justin Bailey, USC Upstate
Alex Timmerman, Winthrop
Player of the Year
Drew Pember, UNC Asheville
Freshman of the Year
Juslin Bodo Bodo, High Point
Defensive Player of the Year
Juslin Bodo Bodo, High Point
Newcomer of the Year
Duke Miles, High Point
Coach of the Year
Alan Huss, High Point
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Lucas Stieber, Gardner-Webb
