COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men’s basketball team honored its 2017-18 campaign that culminated in the Aggies’ second Sweet 16 appearance in three seasons on Monday night during the program’s annual awards banquet. The event was highlighted by junior Tyler Davis being honored as the team’s Most Outstanding Player.
The program’s award winners are as follows:
Most Outstanding Player: Tyler Davis
A First Team All-SEC and All-District (US Basketball Writers Association & National Association of Basketball Coaches) honoree, Davis stood out as one of the country’s most dominant and consistent players during his junior campaign. The only Aggie to start all 35 games, Davis helped guide Texas A&M back to the Sweet 16 by leading the SEC in field goal percentage (58.5 percent) for the third consecutive season and pacing the Aggies in scoring at 14.9 points per game, which ranked 13th in the SEC. He posted a team-high 12 double-doubles on the season, second most in the SEC to only Georgia’s Yante Maten. The Plano West High School product checked in at second in the SEC with an 8.9 rebounding average on the season, including a league-leading 8.9 average during conference games. His season total of 313 boards, fell just four short of the A&M single season record of 317 set by Claude Riley in 1982. During the course of the campaign, Davis joined Texas A&M’s exclusive 1,000-Point, 500-Rebound and 100-Block Clubs, becoming just the fifth Aggie to reach all three milestones during their playing career
Newcomer of the Year: TJ Starks
Starks came on strong during the second half of his rookie campaign to garner SEC All-Freshman Team accolades after emerging as one of the league’s most exciting players. The Dallas native played in 32 games, averaging 9.9 points per contest on the year while also compiling 72 assists, 63 rebounds, 12 steals and two blocks. Starks moved into the starting lineup for the season’s final 15 contests during which he averaged 14.7 points per game while shooting 43.0 percent (80-for-186) from the field and 38.5 percent (25-for-65) from 3-point range. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 12 after averaging 20 points during Aggie wins over No. 8 Auburn and No. 24 Kentucky.
Chris Walker Hustle Award: Duane Wilson
In his lone season wearing the Maroon & White, Wilson left a positive impact on the Aggie Basketball program and truly left it all on the court as he battled through injuries which would ultimately cut short his season in mid-February. The Milwaukee, Wis., native played in 22 games during the 2017-18 campaign, drawing 16 starts while dishing out a team-high 89 assists (4.0 per game) and averaging 9.0 points per contest. He also compiled 45 rebounds, 25 steals and six blocks. Among the many highlights from Wilson’s season were a dazzling 22-point performance in the Legends Classic championship game win over Penn State which netted him a spot on the All-Tournament Team and a gutty effort that culminating a clutch, game-winning free throw in the closing seconds of a marquee road upset over No. 8 Auburn on Feb. 7.
Daniels Scoates Garner Scholar Athlete Award: Tonny Trocha-Morelos
Putting together another steady season to cap off a solid four-year career in Aggieland, Trocha-Morelos played in all 35 contests during the 2017-18 campaign, drawing 12 starting assignments. Additionally, he was the first Aggie off the bench a team-high 22 occasions as he averaged 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest for the season while compiling 40 assists, 33 blocks and 15 steals. For his efforts off the court and in the classroom, the Cartagena, Colombia, native was honored with a spot on both the SEC Community Service Team and SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll.
Top Rebounder: Robert Williams
Returning to Texas A&M for his sophomore campaign after being projected as a first-round draft pick during last summer’s NBA Draft, Williams earned Co-SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors as well as USBWA All-District VII accolades following the 2017-18 campaign. The Oil City, La., native played in 30 games, drawing 23 starting assignments and averaging 10.4 points per game and an SEC-leading 9.2 rebounds per contest. He produced seven double-doubles on the year to give him a total of 18 for his two-year career and collected 78 blocked shots, the second most in a single season in school history and the most by an SEC player during the 2017-18 campaign. During SEC play, Williams scoring average jumped to 11.9 points per game as he helped lead the Aggies back to March Madness. During Texas A&M’s NCAA Tournament first round match up against Providence, Williams corralled 14 rebounds to become the 28th member of Texas A&M’s 500-Rebound Club as well as just the second Aggie to accomplish the feat in only two seasons (Rudy Woods).
Defensive Player of the Year & Strength and Conditioning Award: Admon Gilder
Gilder put together another solid campaign as a junior that was interrupted by a mid-season injury. The Dallas native played in 30 games and ranked second on the team by averaging 12.3 points per contest while shooting 45.8 percent from the field with a team-leading 39.5 percent clip from 3-point range. Gilder led the Aggies in free throw shooting at 82.1 percent from the charity stripe and paced the Aggies with 37 steals, checking in at eighth in the SEC with a 1.2 steals-per-game average. He ranked ninth in the SEC by playing a team-leading 32.0 minutes per contest and dished out 77 assists on the year. During the campaign, Gilder joined Texas A&M’s exclusive 1,000-Point Club and earned SEC Player of the Week honors after helping lead the Aggies to a victory against No. 11 West Virginia (11/10) during the season-opening Armed Forces Classic at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics