By SEAN BOCK
Davidson senior forward Peyton Aldridge and St. Bonaventure senior guard Jaylen Adams were named Atlantic 10 Co-Players of the Year Tuesday while Rhode Island coach Danny Hurley was voted A-10 Coach of the Year.
Aldridge led the league in scoring with 21.3 points per game and had the most points in a single game with 45 on Feb. 27th at St. Bonaventure. Davidson finished third in the A-10.
Adams, the leading scorer for his team, averaged 20.5 points per game and helped lead his team to a second-place finish in the A-10 including a 12-game winning streak to finish out regular season play. He was third in the league in assists with 5.2 per game.
In his sixth season at Rhode Island, Hurley guided the Rams to a 23-6 overall record and a 15-3 finish in the A-10. Rhode Island was crowned the A-10 regular season champions for the second time in school history.
“It should be named the ‘You Recruited the Right Players’ award,” Hurley said. “The ‘You’ve Got a Great Staff’ award.”
2017-18 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Awards
Co-Players of the Year: Peyton Aldridge (Davidson) and Jaylen Adams (St. Bonaventure)
Coach of the Year: Dan Hurley (Rhode Island)
Defensive Player of the Year: Yuta Watanabe (George Washington)
Rookie of the Year: Kellan Grady (Davidson)
Chris Daniels C0-Most Improved Players: Luwane Pipkins (Massachusetts) and LaDarien Griffin (St. Bonaventure)
Sixth Man of the Year: Tarin Smith (Duquesne)
All-Conference First Team
Peyton Aldridge (Davidson), Jared Terrell (Rhode Island), Jaylen Adams (St. Bonaventure), Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure), Justin Tillman (VCU)
All-Conference Second Team
Kellan Grady (Davidson), Otis Livingston II (George Mason), B.J. Johnson (La Salle), Luwane Pipkins (Massachusetts), Shavar Newkirk (St. Joseph’s)
All-Conference Third Team
Josh Cunningham (Dayton), Yuta Watanabe (George Washington), E.C. Matthews (Rhode Island), Grant Golden (Richmond), James Demery (St. Joseph’s)
All-Defensive Team
Josh Chartouny (Fordham), Yuta Watanabe (George Washington), Stanford Robinson (Rhode Island), Javon Bess (St. Louis), Justin Tillman (VCU)
All-Rookie Team
Kellan Grady (Davidson), Jalen Crutcher (Dayton), Eric Williams, Jr. (Duquesne), Grant Golden (Richmond), Hasahn French (St. Louis)
All-Academic Team
Josh Chartouny (Fordham), Prokop Slanina (Fordham), Patrick Steeves (George Washington), B.J. Johnson (La Salle), Jeff Dowtin (Rhode Island)