March 1, 2010
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State junior duo of Norris Cole and D'Aundray Brown were each represented when the Horizon League announced its annual men's basketball honors. Cole was one of five players named to the all-league first team while Brown was selected for the all-defensive team.
"I am happy for these two players because it shows that the other members of the league respect what they have accomplished this year and what they mean to our team," CSU head coach Gary Waters said.
Cole, a 6-2, 175-pound guard from Dayton Ohio, earned the honor after ranking third in the league in scoring (16.4) and assists (4.2), fourth in steals (1.8) and eighth in free throw percentage (.808) this year. He is one of 14 players in school history to score 500 points in a single season, recording eleven 20-point games this season.
Cole was joined on the all=league first team by Green Bay's Rahmon Fletcher and the Butler trio of Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack.
Cole, who has played in all 102 games during his career, ranks 14th in school history with 1,167 career points. He enters a week having starting 68 consecutive games, the seventh-longest streak ever at CSU.
"A lot of pressure has been placed on Norris this year to be a team leader, play a new position and still be a scorer for us and I think that he has responded to all of these challenges very well," Waters said.
Brown, 6-4, 185-pound guard from Youngstown, Ohio, has been a defensive fixture for the Vikings all season, ranking 16th in the nation with a league-leading 79 steals this season. He is averaging 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, shooting .512 from the field (107-209) and .784 from the line (40-51).
Brown was joined on the all-defensive team by Detroit's Woody Payne, Butlers Ronald Nored and Willie Veasley and Wright State's Vaughn Duggins.
"D'Aundray has been our emotional spark for the last two years because whenever he is on the court, our energy level rises. He has been a solid defender all season long and he has slowly taken on more of a scoring role down the stretch," Waters said.
The Vikings open play as the No. 5 seed in the Speedway Horizon League Championship, host No. 8 Loyola on Tuesday (March 2) at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
