Campbell’s Clemons on All-Big South first team

by Dunn Area Sports Staff | Feb 27, 2018 | Articles, Campbell, News & Features

Chris Clemons of Campbell made first team All-Big South Conference. (Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Chris Clemons (Raleigh/Millbrook High School), Marcus Burk (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) and Cory Gensler (Cary/Cary) of Campbell have earned Big South Conference men’s basketball postseason honors. Clemons was chosen to the all-conference first team; Burk was an honorable mention all-league selection, while Gensler was named to the Big South All-Academic Team.

Clemons, a junior, is the nation’s fourth-leading scorer (24.6 points per game) and owns the longest active consecutive double figure scoring streak among Division I players (78 games). He leads the Big South in scoring, is third in free throw percentage (.863), fifth in steals (1.6) and sixth in assists (3.1).

The Big South pre-season player of the year, Clemons earned all-conference honors for the third consecutive season after becoming the first junior in league history to top the 2,000 career point plateau. In only 93 games, Clemons already ranks sixth among Big South all-time scoring leaders and second in school history with 2,124 points entering Thursday’s conference tournament quarterfinal against Liberty.

Clemons scored a season-high 42 points (10-14 threes) on Jan. 23 in a 94-85 win at Liberty when he and Burk (32 points) became the first teammates in NCAA Division I history to make 10 three-pointers each in the same game. Clemons hit game-winning buzzer beater threes vs. High Point (Jan. 12) and Radford (Jan. 21) and was named Big South player of the week three times during the regular season.

A sophomore, Burk enters this week’s tournament ranked 11th among Big South scoring leaders (15.0), fourth in field goal percentage (.495) and second in both 3-pointers made (2.8) and 3-point accuracy (.403). He has produced nine games of 20 or more points and scored in double figures 21 times in the last 28 outings.

Burk tallied a career-high 33 points (8-13 threes) last November at UNC Wilmington and knocked down 10-of-16 triples in the record-setting win at Liberty. The 6-foot-3 guard was named Big South player of the week Nov. 28 after earning all-tournament honors in the Creek Classic.

A sophomore guard, Gensler has started all but one game this year (Senior Day). He is the team’s fourth-leading scorer (7.8) and ranks 19th among Big South rebounding leaders (4.5). A member of the 2017 Big South Presidential Honor Roll and three-time Dean’s List student, Gensler owns a 3.74 grade-point average as a trust & wealth management major.

Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Kevin McGeehan, the Camels (16-14, 10-8) earned their highest seed in the league tournament in six years and posted their best conference victory total since the 2012 squad finished 11-7.

Regular season champion UNC Asheville will host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds Thursday and Friday (March 1-2) at Kimmel Arena. The championship game is set for next Sunday (March 4) at 1 p.m. at the highest seeded team and will be televised by ESPN.

Campbell will square off against fifth-seeded Liberty (18-13, 9-9) in Thursday’s 9 p.m. quarterfinal.

2017-18 BIG SOUTH ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS

First-Team All-Conference
Xavier Cooks, F, Sr., Winthrop
Chris Clemons, G, Jr., Campbell
Ahmad Thomas, G, Sr., UNC Asheville
Ed Polite Jr., F, Jr., Radford
MaCio Teague, G, Soph., UNC Asheville

Second-Team All-Conference
Christian Keeling, G, Soph., Charleston Southern
David Efianayi, G, R-Jr., Gardner-Webb
Scottie James, F, R-Soph., Liberty
Andre Fox, G, Jr., High Point
Jahaad Proctor, G, Soph., High Point

Honorable Mention All-Conference
Reggie Dillard, G, R-Sr., Presbyterian College
Liam O’Reilly, G, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Marcus Burk, G, Soph., Campbell
Carlik Jones, G, R-Fr., Radford
Bjorn Broman, G, Jr., Winthrop

All-Freshman Team
Carlik Jones, G, R-Fr., Radford
Phlandrous Fleming Jr., G, Fr., Charleston Southern
Jaheam Cornwall, G, Fr., Gardner-Webb
Elijah Cuffee, G, Fr., Liberty
Justyn Mutts, F, Fr., High Point

All-Academic Team
Cory Gensler, G, Soph., Campbell
Christian Keeling, G, Soph., Charleston Southern
Patrick Zeck, F, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Jahaad Proctor, G, Soph., High Point
Ryan Kemrite, G, R-Sr., Liberty
Dominic Ezeani, G, Soph., Longwood
JC Younger, G, Soph., Presbyterian College
Caleb Tanner, G, Jr., Radford
Kevin Vannatta, G, Sr., UNC Asheville
Anders Broman, G, R-Sr., Winthrop

Player of the Year
Xavier Cooks, F, Sr., Winthrop

Freshman of the Year
Carlik Jones, G, R-Fr., Radford

Defensive Player of the Year
Ahmad Thomas, G, Sr., UNC Asheville

Coach of the Year
Mike Jones, Radford

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Kevin Vannatta, G, Sr., UNC Asheville

(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)