Hood Named POY & NOY to Lead WPU’s All-Heart Honorees
Oskaloosa–The dominant play of William Penn men’s basketball player Dexter Hood (Sr., Tuscaloosa, Ala., Wellness and Recreation) was rewarded as the all-Heart of America Athletic Conference teams were announced Tuesday.
Hood was named both Heart Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, while Kevion Blaylock (Jr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) and Karmari Newman (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) joined him on the 10-person first team.
Nathan Gehring (Jr., Waukee, Iowa) was honored on the 10-person second crew, while Eddie Daley (Jr., DeWitt, Michigan, Business Management) was one of 20 individuals to collect an honorable mention.
The award is the first for all five cagers. Hood’s NOY accolade marks the seventh-consecutive season in which WPU has claimed the award, dating all the way back to the 2013-2014 campaign.
It is also the seventh time that William Penn has had the league’s Player of the Year on its roster, including four times since 2012-2013.
The quintet has guided the Statesmen to a 27-3 regular season mark, including a Heart regular season title with a 21-3 conference record. WPU has been ranked in the top 10 nationally all season and is the #1 seed for the Heart Tournament.
Hood enters postseason play averaging a team-high 20.1 points along with 6.9 rebounds. He has also managed 53 assists, 28 steals, and four blocks, while shooting 58.3% from the field (37.7% 3-PT) and 68.4% at the free-throw line.
The senior not only leads WPU in scoring, but is also tops in the league, having scored a Heart-best 604 points thus far this winter. He is also first in the league in field-goal percentage, third in total rebounds (207), sixth in rebounding average, seventh in defensive rebounds per game (5.0), and ninth in double-doubles (4).
Blaylock joined the squad at semester and has since been an incredible force, averaging a double-double with 16.6 points and 11.2 rebounds. He has also notched 32 assists, 14 blocks, and nine steals, while shooting 56.7% overall (41.5% 3-PT) and 84.7% at the charity stripe.
The junior is tied for the league lead with 10 double-doubles, while also ranking 10th in total rebounds (190). Since he has only played in 17 games, he does not qualify to be ranked in other ‘per-game’ categories. Blaylock has posted five of the Heart’s top 12 single-game rebounding performances this season, including a high of 18.
Newman has done serious damage from deep, averaging 16.9 points with 3.4 rebounds. He has added 44 assists, 28 steals, and one block as well. The junior is shooting 41.3% overall (38.4% 3-PT), while connecting on 77.2% of his free throws.
Newman enters the league tournament first in the conference in three-pointers (104) and three-pointers per game (3.71). He is also fifth in free-throw percentage, seventh in scoring average, and 10th in total points (473).
Gehring and Daley have been a strong 1-2 punch in the post. Gehring averages 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per outing, while also tallying 36 assists, 30 blocks, and 20 steals. He is shooting 62.3% from the field. Daley provides an inside-outside game, averaging 8.8 and 6.1 rebounds per game. The junior has also managed 40 blocks, 10 assists, and seven steals, while hitting 52.5% of his shots (34.5% 3-PT).
Gehring ranks fifth in the Heart in total blocks, seventh in blocks per game (1.0), total rebounds (194), and double-doubles (5), ninth in offensive rebounds per game (1.9), and 10th in rebounds per game.
Among Heart players, Daley is fourth in both total blocks and blocks per game (1.4), while being eighth in offensive rebounds per game (2.0).
Heart Defensive Player of the Year honors were given to Dakota Quinn of MidAmerica Nazarene, while his teammate Anthony Brown was picked as the Heart Freshman of the Year. Jim Blaine of Clarke was recognized by his peers as Heart Coach of the Year.
