R-MC Trio Headlines D3hoops and NABC End-of-Season Awards

Posted: Mar 22, 2022

FOREST, Va. --- Recently crowned national champions Randolph-Macon College earned some additional hardware with the announcement of the end-of-season awards by D3hoops.com and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Yellow Jackets playmaker and four-time ODAC Player of the Year Buzz Anthony was named the D3hoops.com Division III Player of the Year and earned First Team All-America laurels from both outlets. Teammate and forward Miles Mallory garnered All-America Second Team Honors. R-MC head coach Josh Merkel received Division III Coach of the Year honors from both sources.

The two All-American releases come on the heels of earlier awards processes. D3hoops.com honors All-Region teams, while the NABC features All-District squads. Those honorees are listed below.

D3HOOPS.COM ALL-REGION VI | ODAC HONOREES

First Team: Buzz Anthony, RMC (POY), Miles Mallory, RMC
Second Team: T.C. Thacker, LYN; Kasey Draper, RC; Josh Talbert, RMC

NABC ALL-DISTRICT VI | ODAC HONOREES

First Team: Buzz Anthony, RMC (POY), Miles Mallory, RMC
Second Team: Liam Ward, GC; T.C. Thacker, LYN

Anthony, a senior from Arnold, Md., put together one of the greatest careers in ODAC history on the way to becoming the only four-time Kurt Axe Memorial Player of the Year in ODAC men's basketball history. The 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Most Outstanding Player was a finalist for both the Jostens Trophy and the Bevo Francis Award in addition to earning Academic All-America Third Team status.

Anthony finished third in the country in assists per game (7.4) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.99). His six double-doubles feature five by points and assists and his last one via points and rebounds. He led the ODAC in points scored (561), assists (236), steals (69), and three-pointers made (89-of-204). He was second in field goals made (205-of-421) and fifth in scoring average (17.5), having scored in double figures in 28-of-32 games played. Anthony graduates as the ODAC career-record holder in assists (798) and third in steals (256) and free throw shooting (86.9% - 372-of-428). His assists and steals marks are third in R-MC history, while his free throw percentage and 248 made three-pointers rank second. He is third in program history in points scored (1,988).

The Arnold, Md. native is the all-time ODAC record-holder in assists with 798 helpers. He is #1 in school history with 256 steals and ranks third in R-MC's record books with 1,988 points scored. This season, Anthony led the ODAC in points scored (561), assists (236), steals (69), and three-pointers made (89-of-204). He was second in field goals made (205-of-421), third in free throw shooting (83.8% -- 62-of-74) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0), and fifth in scoring average (17.5). He scored in double figures in 28-of-32 games played with 11 efforts of 20 or more points including a pair of 32-point outings. He handed out 10 or more assists seven times with a season-high 13 in an early season win over then top-five ranked Marietta College.

Mallory, a junior from Beltsville, Md., joined Anthony on the Division III Championship All-Tournament Team. In addition to earning All-ODAC First Team honors, he was named the ODAC Defensive Player of the Year. He was a major reason Randolph-Macon finished second in the country in points allowed per game (58.5) and fourth in scoring margin (19.4).

Mallory set ODAC and R-MC single-season records with 90 blocked shots, the fifth-most in Division III this year. His 198 career blocked shots are a Yellow Jackets record and on the doorstep of the ODAC's top-five all-time. Mallory also led the league in defensive (199) and total (286) rebounds, while finishing fourth in rebounding average (8.4). His offensive game also took a step forward as he posted career highs in points scored (520) and scoring average (15.3), which ranked third and ninth in the conference, respectively. He was #1 in field goals made (221-of-388), while his shooting percentage (.570) ranked third. Mallory posted 12 double-doubles, including a pair in the NCAA Tournament.

Merkel completed his seventh season leading Randolph-Macon's men's program and 11th overall as a collegiate head coach. He earned his fifth straight Bob Johnson Coach of the Year award from his league peers. His Yellow Jackets have won 100-of-107 games played over the past four years and 50 of their past 51 contests dating back to the final five games of 2019-20 and all 12 contest in 2020-21. Randolph-Macon posted a 33-1 mark featuring the program's first Division III title and its ninth conference trophy (third straight). Merkel's career records now stand at 214-79 (.730) overall and 148-38 (.796) at Randolph-Macon.

Randolph-Macon spent most of the season perched atop the D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll. R-MC was ranked first in the preseason and took up second and third positions over the first three weeks. The Yellow Jackets returned to the top of the survey in week four and remained their throughout the remainder of the season.