Lovedale also makes all-conference team;
Gosselin named defensive player of the year

Davidson College sports information press release

The Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA) has named Davidson guard Stephen Curry the Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year, it was announced Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in separate balloting announced Thursday, the 12 Southern Conference head coaches also named Mr. Curry as Player of the  Year, and teammate Max Paulhus Gosselin earned the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year award in a ballot conducted by the league’s 12 head coaches.

Mr. Curry’s Player of the Year honors came for for the second consecutive season. He is the first player to do so since Western Carolina’s Frankie King won the award in 1994 and 1995. Mr. Curry is also the first Davidson player to earn back-to-back player of the year honors since Mike Maloy in 1969 and 1970.

In the media vote, Mr. Curry also earned first-team All-SoCon honors, while senior forward Andrew Lovedale was named second-team all-conference. Ed Conroy of The Citadel was selected Coach of the Year, while Western Carolina’s Harouna Mutombo was named Freshman of the Year.

COACHES’ CHOICES

In the coaches’ vote, besides the honors for Mr. Curry and Mr. Gosselin, Andrew Lovedale joined Curry on the coaches’ all-conference team.

Coaches also named Ed Conroy of The Citadel as Coach of the Year, while Western Carolina’s Harouna Mutombo was named Freshman of the Year.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches also named Mr. Curry and Mr. Lovedale all-district, as Curry was named to the first team, and Lovedale earned second-team honors. The duo is now eligible for the NABC All-America Team, which will be announced April 4 at the Final Four in Detroit.

NATIONAL SCORING LEADER

The nation’s leading scorer with 28.4 points per game, Mr. Curry helped the Wildcats post a record of 18-2 in league play to earn the South Division crown, their third in a row. He leads the SoCon in assists (5.9/gm) and steals (2.6/gm) while ranking second in free-throw percentage (.867) and 3-pointers per game (3.9/gm). He was named SoCon Player of the Week eight times this season and earned Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Month accolades in November, December and January.

Mr. Lovedale is averaging 12.5 points an outing and ranks second in the SoCon in rebounding (8.6/gm) and blocked shots (1.6/gm), while ranking 10th in field goal percentage (.510).

Max Paulhus Gosselin started all 30 games he played in and is fourth in the conference in steals with 1.8 a game to go along with 4.6 points and 4.2 rebounds a contest.

TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND

The Wildcats will take on either Appalachian State or Georgia Southern at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in their opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament at The McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn.

RELATED COVERAGE

Feb. 4, 2009, “Former Wildcat star Mike Maloy dies in Vienna.”