Conference USA Men's Basketball All-Conference Team

C-USA unveils its all-conference team from the 2016-17 season.

Conference USA

IRVING, Texas – Student-athletes from nine different C-USA schools are represented on the 2016-17 all-conference men's basketball teams, with a league-best three from regular-season champion Middle Tennessee. Rice placed its top scoring duo on the first team, while Louisiana Tech, Marshall and UTEP also had a pair of all-conference performers on the season. Voting on the awards was done by the C-USA head coaches and media members in each conference city.

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Louisiana Tech Erik McCree earns first-team honors after receiving a nod on the C-USA second team a year ago. The senior forward anchored the league’s second-youngest team to a second-place finish in the regular season standings. McCree registered 12 double-doubles on the season, and finished among the top six scorers (17.7 ppg) and rebounders (8.7 rpg). He scored 25 or more points in six games. A native of Orlando, Florida, he is one of only four forwards in the nation to have made at least 175 field goals, 50 3-pointers and 100 free throws.

Marshall junior Jon Elmore finished the regular season as the league’s top scorer, averaging 20.3 points per game, and leading playmaker with 6.1 assists per game. He ranks 15th in assists nationally and among the top 40 scores in NCAA Division I. He has seven double-doubles with points and assists. The native of Charleston, West Virginia, scored in double-figures in all 31 games for the Herd and reached the 1,000-point career milestone in the regular-season finale. A communication studies major with a 3.6 GPA, Elmore was also named to the C-USA All-Academic Team last week.

Rice sophomore Marcus Evans is a repeat selection to the All-Conference USA first team. Evans ranked third on the C-USA scoring chart with 18.8 ppg. and upped that average to 19.5 against conference opponents. He has already set Rice’s sophomore scoring record with 584 points entering the C-USA Championship. Evans also set the school and conference record as the fastest student-athlete to reach 1,000 career points, doing so in just 49 games. A native of Chesapeake, Virginia, he was a two-time C-USA Player of the Week selection this season after also being named the 2016 C-USA Freshman of the Year and a nod on the All-Defensive Team.

Evans’ teammate Egor Koulechov joins him on the all-conference squad this year. Koulechov, who hails from Volgograd, Russia, averages 18.5 points per game and also hit the milestone for 1,000 career points. In conference games, Koulechov was the only student-athlete to average a double-double of 18.6 points and 10.1 rebounds. He is only the sixth player in school history to register 500 points and 250 rebounds in a season.

Middle Tennessee senior JaCorey Williams rounds out the first team as one of the “big three” for the regular-season champion Blue Raiders, who set the record for most conference wins in a season with 17 (17-1). Williams is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 17.2 points per game, and scored a career-high 31 points against Toledo. The Birmingham, Alabama, native recorded 11 double-doubles on the season and also ranks sixth on the C-USA rebounding chart with 7.6 rpg.

Middle Tennessee is also represented on the all-conference second team by senior forward Reggie Upshaw Jr., an All-Conference third-team selection a year ago. Upshaw is joined by Charlotte sophomore Jon Davis, UAB junior William Lee, UTEP senior Dominic Artis and WKU junior Justin Johnson as all-conference second-team selections.

The All-Conference Third Team is comprised of Marshall senior Ryan Taylor and four underclassmen, including juniors Jacobi Boykins of Louisiana Tech, Giddy Potts of Middle Tennessee and Omega Harris of UTEP. Old Dominion sophomore guard Ahmad Caver rounds out the squad.

The Conference USA All-Freshman and All-Defensive Teams, as well as superlative awards for Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year will be announced Tuesday. The C-USA Player of the Year and the C-USA Gene Bartow Coach of the Year winners will be unveiled on Wednesday.

The 2017 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by MetroPCS will be held March 8-11 at the Legacy Arena at BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and by calling (205) 975-8221.

2016-17 ALL-CONFERENCE USA FIRST TEAM
Erik McCree, Louisiana Tech, Sr., F, 6-8. 225, Orlando, Florida
Jon Elmore, Marshall, Jr., G, 6-3, 189, Charleston, West Virginia
JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee, Sr., F, 6-8, 220, Birmingham, Alabama
Marcus Evans, Rice, So., G, 6-2, 195, Chesapeake, Virginia
Egor Koulechov, Rice, R-Jr., G/F, 6-5, 210, Volgograd, Russia

2016-17 ALL-CONFERENCE USA SECOND TEAM
Jon Davis, Charlotte, So., G, 6-3, 195, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee, Sr., F, 6-8, 228, Chattanooga, Tennessee
William Lee, UAB, Jr., F, 6-9, 210, Plantersville, Alabama
Dominic Artis, UTEP, Sr., G, 6-3, 190, San Francisco, California
Justin Johnson, WKU, Jr., F, 6-6, 240, Hazard, Kentucky

2016-17 ALL-CONFERENCE USA THIRD TEAM
Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech, Jr., G, 6-6, 175, St. Petersburg, Florida
Ryan Taylor, Marshall, Sr., F, 6-5, 249, Indianapolis, Indiana
Giddy Potts, Middle Tennessee, Jr., G, 6-2, 217, Athens, Alabama
Ahmad Caver, Old Dominion, So., G, 6-2, 170, Atlanta, Georgia
Omega Harris, UTEP, Jr., G, 6-3, 165, Bethany, Oklahoma

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