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Men’s Basketball Players Honored at Banquet
4/25/2012 5:28:05 PM
Men’s Basketball Players Honored at Banquet
April 23, 2012
Hobbs, NM – Sophomore forward Dequan Hicks (Racine, WI) and freshman guard Desmond Lee (Norfolk, VA) were named Co-Team MVP’s at the 45th Annual New Mexico Junior College Athletic Banquet sponsored by the NMJC Booster Club Monday.
Thunderbird players Marvin Binney(Toronto, Canada.), Alex Phillips (Phenix City, AL), Robert Turner (Augusta, GA), Dequan Hicks and Desmond Lee, as well as team manager Donte Atkins, were honored on the night as Coach Chris Tifft hosted his third banquet as Thunderbird head coach.
While Hicks and Lee were recognized as Co-MVP’s, Hicks also received the ‘Leading Rebounder’ award. Hicks finished the season as the T-Birds’ leading rebounder with an average of 7.0 rebounds per game. It was the second year in a row that Hicks led the Thunderbirds in rebounding.
Freshman point guard Robert Turner was honored as the Thunderbirds’ ‘Most Improved Player.’ Turner finished the season strong, playing both the point guard and scoring guard positions. He averaging 7.2 points per game over his last six contests, helping the T—Birds post a 4-2 record over that stretch. The two losses came to the eventual NJCAA National Champions, South Plains College.
Red-shirt freshman point guard Marvin Binney received two awards on the night, including ‘Best Defensive Player’ and ‘Most Inspirational / T-Bird Award’. Binney started all 32 games for the Thunderbirds, leading the team in assists (94), steals (41) and free throw percentage (80.5). His tough-nosed style of play and leadership qualities helped set the tone for the Western Junior College Athletic Conference’s top rated defense.
Sophomore Donte Atkins (Compton, CA) received a ‘Special Recognition’ award from the Thunderbird basketball team for his two years of service as the team manager. Atkins attended all practices and games, and assisted the coaching staff with numerous basketball related duties.
Sophomore guard Alex Phillips was recognized as an All-Conference performer. Phillips started all 32 games for the Thunderbirds, averaging 10.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in conference play. Along with Phillips, Lee and Hicks were also recognized as All-Conference players. Hicks was also voted to the Region V All-Region Team.
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