It's time for the 2019-20 Cleveland State Men's Basketball (Virtual) Banquet! Each year, we will host our banquet on the Wednesday following the NCAA Final Four. Understandably, given the global circumstances, we were unable to hold an in-person banquet, so Coach Gates got creative. Coach announced on his Twitter Sunday night the team's virtual banquet.
There were many things to cheer about during the 2019-20 season, as Cleveland.com's Terry Pluto dubbed it "From Disaster to Progress," in his February 22nd article. The Vikings won seven Horizon League contests (the most since 2014-15). Cleveland State won three consecutive league games for the first time since the 2014-15 season, in addition to three straight non-conference wins for the first time since 2011-12.
To cap it all off, Coach Gates was named Horizon League Co-Coach of the Year, becoming only the second coach in Cleveland State history to win the award from the HL. To make it even sweeter, the team broke the news to coach on the road.
Now, it's time to relive some of those best moments and recognize the young men in this program for their hard work all season long on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.
And the winner is...
2019-20 Dean's List Honorees:
Service Award: Pat Vuyancih
The service award is presented to a gentleman who went above and beyond his duties to help our men's basketball team over the summer. Pat showed complete unselfishness as he ran summer workouts, hosted team gatherings, and provided mentorship for our student athletes.
Highest GPA Award: Jeremy Sanchez
The Highest GPA Award is an award presented to a young man that went above and beyond in the classroom environment. Sanchez finished the his fall semester with a 3.88 GPA. With the highest GPA on the team he was a Dean's List recipient.
Most Improved Award: Craig Beaudion
The Most Improved Award is given to an individual who made great strides in his game during the 2019-20 season. This young man just finished his first season as a member of the program, after playing two years at the community college level. Craig was one of only three players this season to average double-digit points per game, ranked first on the team in steals per game, assists per game and second in free throw percentage, after playing a team-high 31.3 minutes per contest in 24 games. Our Most Improved award winner was second in the league in steals, sixth in assists and 10th in free throw percentage. This young man had 14 games of 10-plus points and six games of a career-high tying three steals.
Brian Maloney Manager of the Year Award: Nick Korta
The Brian Maloney Manager of the Year Award is presented to one of our student managers who went above and beyond to help this program run smoothly this year. Brian Maloney served as student manager for the Vikings, and in his time as a manager, Maloney demonstrated what hard work entailed. Being a manager is endless hours of grinding in the trenches. Most work being unnoticed yet essential. Nick Korta always brought energy to practices and was eager to help in any way possible. He has a bright future in this business as he continues to serve. If serving is beneath you, leading is beyond you.
Sixth Man Award: Deante Johnson
The Sixth Man of the Year award is given to a young man who would come off the bench and leave his mark on the game. The winner of this award appeared in all 32 games this past season, ranked second on the team in blocks per game and fifth on the team in rebounds per game. Among all non-starters in the Horizon League, Deante ranked second in rebounds, blocked shots and defensive rebounds, third in offensive rebounds and sixth in scoring. This young man poured in a career-high 15 points in front of his hometown crowd at Detroit Mercy, propelling us to an overtime win.
Chairman of the Boards Award: Algevon Eichelberger
The Chairman of the Boards award is given to an individual who led the team in cleaning up the glass! This young man led the team in total rebounds per game, as well as offensive rebounds and was second in defensive rebounds. Big Al pulled down a total of 185 boards in 29 games for the Vikings this season, averaging 6.4 per contest. He ranked seventh in the league in rebounds per contest and fifth in offensive rebounds. This individual tallied four games of 10-or-more rebounds, including three games of a career-high tying 13 boards.
Newcomer of the Year Award: Torrey Patton
The Newcomer of the Year award is presented to an individual who had a tremendous impact on this program in his first season. The winner of this award appeared in 26 games for the Vikings, was one of only three players on the team to average 10-or-more points, one of only two players to average over six rebounds and led the team in three-point field goal percentage. This young man ranked top- 10 in the Horizon League for rebounds in league games. He also knocked down a game-tying three-pointer against league-leading Wright State in our last home game of the year and in the very next game, buried the game-winning triple against Milwaukee, securing our seventh league victory of the season.
Level 5 Award: Jaalam Hill
The Level 5 Award is an award presented to an individual who bought in from day one and was responsible for the building blocks of our culture. Level 5 is hard to obtain everyday and this young man brought leadership, intensity and a contagious energy to our program day in and day out. This young man is power clapping as we speak!
Most Assists Award: Craig Beaudion
The Most Assists Award is presented to an individual who had no trouble passing the rock! The winner of this award led the Vikings in total assists, dishing out 83 total assists on the year, averaging 3.46 assists per game. This young man strung together six games of notching five or more assists, including tallying a career-high nine assists against UIC on December 28. In the Horizon League, this individual ranked sixth in assists per contest.
Dennis Gates Defensive Player of the Year: Franklyn Penn Jr.
The Dennis Gates Defensive Player of the Year is awarded to the individual who exhibited toughness and grit on the defensive end of the court. This young man always took the challenge on guarding the best player and was our junkyard dog. The award winner saw action in 23 games for the Vikings, averaging 1.0 steal per contest. He had five games this past season of two or more steals, including a career-high four swipes in a win against Edinboro on Nov. 9.
Vikings Shield Award: Kasheem Thomas
The Viking Shield Award is an award presented to a young man that took pride in our Viking Defensive Principles. Following each game, our managers and graduate assistants grade film on nine defensive categories. The player that grades the highest receives the "Defensive Shield of Discipline & Toughness." This young man was the winner of our first-ever Viking Shield, tallying 10 hroughout the season. He graded out as the most consistent defender night in and night out.
John McLendon Award for Excellence: Tre Gomillion
The John McLendon Award for Excellence is an award given to a young man that was a champion in our 3 C's (Classroom, Court, and Community). In the classroom, he achieved a 3.4 GPA in his first semester. On the court he was a staple to our success, as the only player to start all 32 games, including two game-winning buckets. In the community, he volunteered himself to read to our youth multiple times. Embodying excellence and representing our program in a positive light everyday.
Unsung Hero Award: Jeremy Sanchez
The Unsung Hero award is a special award. This award is given to someone who was not worried about recognition or credit, brought his hard hat and lunch pail each day, put his head down and went to work. What he provided to our program doesn't show on a stat sheet, but no matter the day, this young man embodied our core values.
Norris Cole Most Outstanding Player Award: Algevon Eichelberger
The Norris Cole Most Outstanding Player award is named after former Cleveland State Viking guard Norris Cole. Cole, the only player in Horizon League history to win Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, went on to win two NBA championships with the Miami Heat, becoming the first Horizon League alumnus to win an NBA title. The winner of this award showed leadership both on and off the court the entire season. This individual appeared and started in 29 games this season and is coming off of a career campaign, in which he averaged a career-high in points per game (team-leading), rebounds per game (team-leading) and assists per game, while playing in a career-high 27.5 minutes per game. He's a 2019-20 Horizon League All-Third Team selection, after ranking fourth in the league in field goal percentage, fifth in offensive rebounds, seventh in rebounds and blocked shots, and 13th in points per game. This young man notched a career-high four double-doubles during the season and poured in a career-high 28 points at Oakland on February 13.
