University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Ladner and Three Golden Eagles Earn NABC All-District Honors
3/14/2023 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --Â Southern Miss' Austin Crowley, Felipe Haase and DeAndre Pinckney picked up NABC All-District 23 honors, per a release from the National Association of Basketball Coaches on Tuesday morning. Head coach Jay Ladner was named the NABC District 23 Coach of the Year.Â
Ladner's honor comes after he was named the Joe Gottfried Sun Belt Coach of the Year and a Hugh Durham Award finalist after producing one of the best turnaround stories in NCAA Division I basketball history. Ladner's Golden Eagles have racked up 25 wins after finishing with seven a season ago. The 18-win swing is two shy of tying the record for the best turnaround in NCAA history that Iowa State set during the 2021-22 season. Southern Miss has also set numerous records under Ladner's tutelage this season. Â
The Golden Eagles' 25 wins are tied for the most in Southern Miss' Division I era and four shy of tying the most wins in program history. Ladner's team also went 15-0 at Reed Green Coliseum to tie the 2011-12 team for the best home winning percentage in program history. The Golden Eagles finished Sun Belt play with 14 wins to tie the 1949-50 team for the most conference wins in a single season. Ladner is the first Southern Miss coach to earn NABC District Coach of the Year honors since Donnie Tyndall in 2013 -- Larry Eustachy also grabbed the honor in 2012.
Crowley added to his postseason awards haul with the NABC honor and was the only Golden Eagle to be named a first teamer. The West Point, Miss. native has already claimed Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Sun Belt, while also being a finalist for the Howell Trophy and Lou Henson Award. The Ole Miss transfer is averaging 16.1 points per game and has a team-leading 62 steals. He is 9 steals shy of tying the single season record set by Cortez Edwards. The West Point product scored 20-plus points 10 times and finished in double figures in 25 games this season. He scored a career-high 30 points in a win over App State on Dec. 31.Â
Crowley scored 25 points at Liberty to help Southern Miss to one of its biggest road wins in the last 10 seasons. He also poured in 25 points in a home win against rival South Alabama in mid-January. The versatile guard had a career-high six steals against Winthrop to help the Golden Eagles to the Cancun Challenge title in Cancun, Mexico. Crowley was the first Golden Eagle to win a conference newcomer of the year award since Dwayne Davis was named Conference USA Newcomer of the Year in 2013. He joins Gary Flowers as the only other Golden Eagle to be named NABC First Team All-District in program history.Â
Haase and Pinckney were named Second Team NABC All-District 23. Haase, who was NABC Second Team All-District at Mercer last season, is averaging 15.3 points per game and has dished out 97 assists so far. The go-to big man scored a season-high 28 points against Lamar in December and then added 26 points at Texas State to help the Golden Eagles clinch the regular season title. He at least 20 points in seven games, including 25 games with at least 10 points scored. Haase had a pair of double-doubles and had six games with at least five assists.Â
Pinckney is averaging 12.9 points per game and averaged 14.4 points per game in Sun Belt play. The Carol City, Fla. native averaged a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game in league play. The three-year player scored a career-high 28 points against James Madison and had seven double-doubles this season. He twice pulled down 13 rebounds and had five assists in two different games. Pinckney scored 10-plus points in 22 games and in 16 Sun Belt games. Haase and Pinckney are the sixth and seventh players in program history to be named NABC Second Team All-District.Â
The Golden Eagles take on UAB on Tuesday night in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. Game time in Birmingham, Ala. is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Ladner's honor comes after he was named the Joe Gottfried Sun Belt Coach of the Year and a Hugh Durham Award finalist after producing one of the best turnaround stories in NCAA Division I basketball history. Ladner's Golden Eagles have racked up 25 wins after finishing with seven a season ago. The 18-win swing is two shy of tying the record for the best turnaround in NCAA history that Iowa State set during the 2021-22 season. Southern Miss has also set numerous records under Ladner's tutelage this season. Â
The Golden Eagles' 25 wins are tied for the most in Southern Miss' Division I era and four shy of tying the most wins in program history. Ladner's team also went 15-0 at Reed Green Coliseum to tie the 2011-12 team for the best home winning percentage in program history. The Golden Eagles finished Sun Belt play with 14 wins to tie the 1949-50 team for the most conference wins in a single season. Ladner is the first Southern Miss coach to earn NABC District Coach of the Year honors since Donnie Tyndall in 2013 -- Larry Eustachy also grabbed the honor in 2012.
Crowley added to his postseason awards haul with the NABC honor and was the only Golden Eagle to be named a first teamer. The West Point, Miss. native has already claimed Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Sun Belt, while also being a finalist for the Howell Trophy and Lou Henson Award. The Ole Miss transfer is averaging 16.1 points per game and has a team-leading 62 steals. He is 9 steals shy of tying the single season record set by Cortez Edwards. The West Point product scored 20-plus points 10 times and finished in double figures in 25 games this season. He scored a career-high 30 points in a win over App State on Dec. 31.Â
Crowley scored 25 points at Liberty to help Southern Miss to one of its biggest road wins in the last 10 seasons. He also poured in 25 points in a home win against rival South Alabama in mid-January. The versatile guard had a career-high six steals against Winthrop to help the Golden Eagles to the Cancun Challenge title in Cancun, Mexico. Crowley was the first Golden Eagle to win a conference newcomer of the year award since Dwayne Davis was named Conference USA Newcomer of the Year in 2013. He joins Gary Flowers as the only other Golden Eagle to be named NABC First Team All-District in program history.Â
Haase and Pinckney were named Second Team NABC All-District 23. Haase, who was NABC Second Team All-District at Mercer last season, is averaging 15.3 points per game and has dished out 97 assists so far. The go-to big man scored a season-high 28 points against Lamar in December and then added 26 points at Texas State to help the Golden Eagles clinch the regular season title. He at least 20 points in seven games, including 25 games with at least 10 points scored. Haase had a pair of double-doubles and had six games with at least five assists.Â
Pinckney is averaging 12.9 points per game and averaged 14.4 points per game in Sun Belt play. The Carol City, Fla. native averaged a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game in league play. The three-year player scored a career-high 28 points against James Madison and had seven double-doubles this season. He twice pulled down 13 rebounds and had five assists in two different games. Pinckney scored 10-plus points in 22 games and in 16 Sun Belt games. Haase and Pinckney are the sixth and seventh players in program history to be named NABC Second Team All-District.Â
The Golden Eagles take on UAB on Tuesday night in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. Game time in Birmingham, Ala. is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
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