WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Three members of the 2013-14 Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team have been named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Region 16 Team.
They are sophomores Devaugntah Williams, a 6-foot, 3-inch guard from Canton, Ohio; Justin Jamison, a 6-foot, 9-inch forward from Garfield Heights, Ohio; and Arroyo Edwards, a 6-foot, 5-inch guard from Milwaukee, Wis. All were named to the first team.
“I am happy these three young men were recognized,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “We have truly benefitted from their presence in our program. They brought exposure to our university that we have not experienced in the past. Thus far, 100 coaches from 69 Division I programs have seen us play in person. Of the 69 coaches, 18 were head coaches, including three former NBA coaches. On top of that, Justin has been the focus of the chancellor’s Student Success Spotlight and was featured by two Springfield television stations. The best part is that they all have good grade point averages and are on track to graduate and go Division I.”
For the season, Williams averaged 17.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and one steal per game. He hit 169 of 386 attempts from the field for 43.8 percent, 64 of 166 attempts from 3-point range for 38.6 percent and 79 of 115 shots from the free throw line for 68.7 percent.
In region play, he averaged 17.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shot 41 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 64 percent from the free throw line.
His best region game was Jan. 22 at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., where he recorded 36 points, nine rebounds and six assists. His second best region game was against Three Rivers Community College Jan. 18 at Joe Paul Evans Arena in the West Plains Civic Center, where he scored 30 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists.
For the season, Jamison averaged 10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He connected on 123 of 203 shots from the field for 60.6 percent, three of six attempts from 3-point range for 50 percent and 63 of 100 shots from the free throw line for 63 percent.
In region play, he averaged 14.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and had shooting percentages of 69 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 61 percent from the free throw line.
His best region game was Feb. 15 at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, where he scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and recorded three blocks. His second best game was Jan. 29 at Mineral Area College in Park Hills. He scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Edwards, for the season, averaged 14.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He connected on 130 of 291 shots from the field for 44.7 percent, 27 of 75 attempts from 3-point range for 36 percent and 143 of 200 shots from the free throw line for 71.5 percent.
In region play, he averaged 17.1 points, 4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and had shooting percentages of 38 percent from the field, 25 percent from 3-point range and 78 percent from the free throw line.
His best region outing was Jan. 22 at State Fair, where he scored 27 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists. His second best game was Jan. 18 against Three Rivers in Joe Paul Evans Arena, where he scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out five assists. He recorded his third best region game Jan. 11 against Mineral Area College in Joe Paul Evans Arena. He scored 21 points, grabbed two rebounds and dished out three assists in that contest.
“These three had some of their best performances in region play,” Walker said. “The best part about the games they scored the most in, they also had several assists or, in Justin’s case, double-doubles. They impacted the games in different ways, and they made their teammates better.”
Other first team all-region honorees were State Fair’s Kevin Punter, Joe Thomasson and Kedar Edwards; Jaysean Paige, Evan Singletary and Malcolm Hamilton, all of Moberly (Mo.) Area Community College; and Anthony Virdure of Mineral Area.
Honorable mention all-region honorees included Torry Butler and Jared White of Three Rivers, Chris Craig of Mineral Area, Jermaine Morgan of Moberly, and Deondre Alexander of State Fair.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball team, including complete statistics from the games, visit wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb/.