Trio of Flames honored by Horizon League

(3/03/03)

The three leaders of the UIC Flames basketball team were all honored by the Horizon League Sunday morning.

Junior guard Cedrick Banks was named to the All-Horizon First Team, while fellow juniors Martell Bailey and Armond Williams were Second-Team honorees.

Banks (pictured), however, missed out on Player of the Year honors, which went to Detroit senior guard Willie Green. Green scored a league-high 43 points against UIC Jan. 27, which began a strong stretch run for the Titans.

Banks averages 19.7 points per game—good for third in the Horizon—and 4.9 rebounds per contest. He was All-Horizon Second Team and All-Newcomer last year.

Bailey is the national leader in assists at 8.4 per game and averages 10.3 points per contest. He is just the second Flame to reach the 200-assist plateau in a season—the other was Craig Lathen (in the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons).

Williams was perhaps the biggest surprise of the season, emerging as a force in the paint, despite his 6-foot-5-inch frame. He averages 13.7 points and leads the Flames in rebounding with 7.9 per game. He also shoots 66 percent, which ranks in the top 10 nationally.

The last time UIC had three players on the top two league honor squads was the 1997-98 season when Mark Miller and Bryant Lowe were All-MCC First Team and Anthony Coomes was All-MCC Second Team. Miller was Player of the Year.

Joining Banks and Green on the All-Horizon First Team were Wright State forward Seth Doliboa, who led the league in scoring, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee forwards Dylan Page and Clay Tucker.

Second-Team members, along with Bailey and Williams, included Loyola guard David Bailey, Butler forward Joel Cornette, and Butler guard Brandon Miller.

The Coach of the Year, for the second straight year, was UW-Milwaukee’s Bruce Pearl. Pearl led the Panthers to a 22-6 record (13-3 in the Horizon) and a second-place league finish.

Loyola forward Paul McMillan was the league’s Newcomer of the Year. He was joined on the All-Newcomer Team by his teammate and fellow forward Demetrius Williams, Youngstown State center Adam Baumann, Cleveland State guard Modibo Niakate and Detroit forward Elijah Warren.

The Horizon League All-Defensive Team included Tucker, Cornette, Miller, Cleveland State center Pape Badiane and Youngstown State guard Marlon Williamson.