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| Danyon Hempy |
Danyon Hempy of The College of Wooster men's basketball team is in the midst of one of the top seasons in program history, and another accolade was added to what's become quite an impressive list of accomplishments this year, as the North Coast Athletic Conference announced that the senior guard was voted as the conference's Player of the Year on Wednesday. Additionally, junior forward Dontae Williams was voted to the all-conference second-team, and junior guard Keonn Scott was an honorable mention selection.
Hempy, the 10th Fighting Scot great to earn the NCAC's top honor, and the first since Doug Thorpe was tabbed as the league MVP in 2014, is the 25th player in program history to earn at least three all-conference honors. He led the league in points (432), averaging 24.0 per game in regular-season conference play. Hempy ranked in the top 10 in shooting percentage (.498), assists (2.9 per game), steals (1.5 per game), and blocks (0.9 per game) during the 18-game conference slate. The psychology major had at least one game with at least 20 points against every team in the NCAC this year. Hempy scored at least 25 points in eight NCAC regular-season contests, headlined by a career-high 40 points versus DePauw University on February 22, in what marked just the sixth 40-point game in the storied program's history.
Overall, Hempy's scored 673 points this year, the second-most in program history. On Saturday, he broke the 34-year-old NCAC Tournament record for points (90), and he scored his 2,000th point during a convincing 87-63 win over archrival Wittenberg University in the tourney championship game. Hempy's 2,014 career points are third in program history and fourth in NCAC history.
Williams, who debuted on the all-conference team, ranked 13th with 13.6 points per conference game. His 8.2 rebounds per night were the fourth-most in league play. Of his nine double-doubles, six came during the league's regular season. Williams matched his career-high with 25 points against Denison University on February 12 and upped his top rebounding mark to 15 versus the Big Red. Williams dished out at least four assists in six NCAC contests and had seven games with multiple blocked shots.
Scott finished the conference slate in the top 20 in scoring at 12.4 points per night. His 46 three-pointers in league play were tied for second among all NCAC student-athletes. Four of Scott's eight 20-point games came in conference play, with that quartet including a 25-point night versus Allegheny College on January 29. Scott knocked down a career-high seven triples versus the Gators. Scott had five games on the league ledger with at least five rebounds and four with at least four assists.
Wooster's now had at least three all-conference selections in 17 straight seasons.
All-NCAC selections are based on stats from the 18 regular-season conference games.