University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Watson and Mills Earn Conference USA Specialty Awards
3/6/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2012
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - A day after being named to the All-Conference USA teams, Southern Miss sophomore guard Neil Watson and junior forward Jonathan Mills took home specialty awards.
Mills was named to the All-Defensive Team, while Watson was named the league's Newcomer of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year in a vote by the league's 12 coaches and various media, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
Mills, who was named Third Team All-Conference USA, becomes the third straight Golden Eagle to be named to the All-Defensive Team, joining Sai'Quon Stone, who was named the previous two years. He is 12th in Conference USA with 5.4 rebounds. In conference games, he is 10th with 7.1 rebounds and second with 3.3 offensive boards. The Chicago, Ill., native has led the team in rebounds 11 times and has six double-figure rebound games. He also has a team-high four double-doubles.
He is joined by C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Moore of UAB, Tarik Black of Memphis, UCF's Keith Clanton and Marshall's Dennis Tinnon.
Watson, who was named Second Team All-Conference USA, joins Jeremy Wise (2006-07) as the only Golden Eagle to be named Newcomer of the Year. He is also the first to earn Sixth Man of the Year.
Watson leads the Golden Eagles with 12.1 points and 4.5 assists, good for 16th and third in the league, respectively. He is also second in C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) and third in free throw percentage (.856).
The Kansas City, Kan., native has scored in double-figures in 21 games. His 143 free throws rank fourth on the sophomore list and seventh on the school single-season list. His 85.6 free throw percentage is currently third in a season at USM. His 141 assists are second on the sophomore list and ninth on the single-season list, and his 36 three-pointers are tied for fifth among all sophomores.
Southern Miss opens the 2012 Conference USA Tournament this Thursday, March 8, as the No. 2 seed. They will face the winner of No. 7 Rice and No. 10 East Carolina in the Quarterfinals at 12 p.m. CT in Memphis, Tenn.
2011-12 C-USA All-Defensive Team
Tarik Black, Memphis, F, 6-8, 243, So., Memphis, Tenn.
Keith Clanton, UCF, F, 6-8, 245, Jr., Orlando, Fla.
Jonathan Mills, Southern Miss, F, 6-6, 230, Jr., Chicago, Ill.
Cameron Moore, UAB, F, 6-10, 230, Sr., San Antonio, Texas
Dennis Tinnon, Marshall, F, 6-8, 225, Jr., Green Bay, Wis.
2011-12 Defensive Player of the Year
Cameron Moore, UAB, F, 6-10, 230, Sr., San Antonio, Texas
2011-12 Newcomer of the Year
Neil Watson, Southern Miss, G, 5-11, 170, So., Kansas City, Kan.
2011-12 Sixth Man of the Year
Neil Watson, Southern Miss, G, 5-11, 170, So., Kansas City, Kan.
2011-12 C-USA All-Freshman Team
Dylan Ennis, Rice, G, 6-2, 175, Fr., Brampton, Ontario
Ricky Tarrant, Tulane, G, 6-0, 170, Fr., Pleasant Grove, Ala.
TaShawn Thomas, Houston, F, 6-8, 215, Fr., Killeen, Texas
Julian Washburn, UTEP, F, 6-7, 205, Fr., Duncanville, Texas
Joseph Young, Houston, G, 6-3, 185, Fr., Houston, Texas
2011-12 Freshman of the Year
Ricky Tarrant, Tulane, G, 6-0, 170, Fr., Pleasant Grove, Ala.
