2010-11 MEN’S BASKETBALL RECAP
The 2010-11 edition of the Emory men’s basketball
program enjoyed a breakout season that featured numerous highlights
both on a team and individual basis. The foundation laid in
previous seasons by head coach Jason Zimmerman paid dividends
with the squad garnering recognition on league, regional and
national levels.
For the record, the Eagles chalked up an overall record of 20-5,
the second-winningest season in school annals. The
team’s victory total represented just the second 20-win
effort by an Emory team and the first since 1989-90 (25-4).
In addition, the team continued its climb up the University
Athletic Association ladder, battling to an 11-3 slate that
represented the second-highest win count in school history.
Picked to finish fifth in the UAA Preseason Poll, Emory recorded
its best showing in the league since 1990 (1st) when it
finished runner-up to Rochester. The Eagles came away with a
4-3 performance in conference road games, the most wins on enemy
courts since 2000-01. Included in the four league road
victories were wins at Washington University and the University of
Chicago (Jan. 14 & 16, 2011), just the fourth time in UAA
history that a team had posted a sweep on the ‘Midwest
Trip.’ Combined with the 2009-10 club’s final mark of
15-10, Emory notched back-to-back winning seasons for the first
time since a three-year stretch dating from 1987-88 through
1989-90.
In addition to its final win total, other high points from 2010-11
included the following:
** Racking up the highest total of home wins in school history,
outscoring the opposition by a 90.5-77.0 per-game margin, en route
to finishing with a 13-1 record at the Woodruff PE Center.
** Staring out with a 7-0 record for just the third time in school
history and first since the 2002-03 season.
** Earning the program’s first-ever inclusion to the
D3hoops.com top 25 Poll since it was initiated in 1999-2000 when it
was ranked 24th on Dec. 25 and 23rd on Dec.
12. The Eagles ended the regular season ranked
27th among Division III squads.
** Ranking first among UAA Teams and 14th nationally in
scoring offense with the team’s 83.6 points per game mark the
third-highest average in school history. The Eagles also
topped the league in scoring for conference games (83.1 ppg).
** Leading the UAA and ranking second nationally with a
school-record 79.0 percent mark (458-of-580) from the foul
line.
** Topping the UAA with a school-record 8.8 three-point field goals
per game, good for 15th place nationally. The
Eagles set a school seasonal record with 219 treys.
** Leading the UAA and holding down the No. 33 spot nationally in
scoring margin (+9.4) The Eagles posted 11 victories of
10 or more points, six of those coming in UAA affairs.
**Leading the UAA and ranking 42nd nationally in the
always important category of turnover ratio (+3.28).
** Leading the UAA with a 7.7 steals per-game average.
** Compiling a 7-2 record in the month of January, just the sixth
time in school history that the Eagles had chalked up seven or more
wins in a month.
** Seeing one of its players earn First Team All-UAA acclaim while
two others garnered second-team recognition, one of whom was also
tabbed as the league’s Rookie of the Year.
** Having two players, Alex Greven and Alex Gulotta earn spots on
the Capital One Academic All-District First Team.
Junior Austin Claunch continued to
demonstrate outstanding leadership skills as well as heady floor
play and brought home First Team All-UAA honors for the second
straight year. Also named to the National Association of Basketball
Coaches (NABC) All-South Region Second Team, Claunch topped both
the team and UAA, and ranked third nationally, with a school
seasonal mark of 7.4 assists per game. In addition to his
assists average, he paced the league in steals (1.9 spg), free
throw percentage (.875), minutes (36.4 mpg) and assist/turnover
ratio (3.0). His free throw percentage effort placed sixth on
Emory's seasonal list and was 22nd nationally. He was named
by the Georgia Basketball Coaches Association as the Division III
Player of the Year and his total of 186 assists established
an Emory seasonal record.
Sophomore Alex Greven emerged was a valuable
contributor and, like Claunch, started all 25 games. No. 2 on
the squad and No. 8 among UAA players in scoring (14.5 ppg), Greven
brought home Second Team All-UAA kudos. A double-figure
scorer in 20 games, including four performances of 20 or more
points, Greven was a Georgia Basketball Coaches Association Second
Team All-State pick. His 31-point outburst against Methodist (Dec.
4) in an 88-82 victory enabled him to claim UAA Player of the Week
honors and was the first time since Dec. 15, 2007, that an
Emory player (Spiros Ferderigos) had reached the 30-point plateau.
Finally, he placed second on the club, fourth on the UAA chart and
74th nationally in free throw percentage (.833).
Jake Davis made a huge impact on the fortunes of
the ’10-11 team, playing in all 25 games, three as a starter,
and finished third on the team in scoring (13.3 ppg) and first in
rebounding (6.5 rpg) en route to Second Team All-UAA honors.
The 6-foot-5 Davis became the first Emory cager to earn UAA Rookie
of the Year honors after leading all league freshmen in scoring,
rebounding and free throw percentage (.830). A Second Team
All-State honoree as selected by the Georgia Basketball Coaches
Association, Davis posted 18 outings of double-figure scoring and
his 332 points represented the third-highest total ever turned in
by an Emory freshman.
Alex Gulotta burst on the scene his junior year
and gave the Eagles’ offense a big lift as one of the
Division III’s most dangerous outside shooters. The
6-foot-1 marksman nabbed Honorable Mention All-UAA status after
ranking third in the league and 10th nationally with a
45.8 percent mark from three-point range. He knocked down 71
from beyond the arc, the third-highest mark in school history, and
his 2.8 makes per game from distance topped the loop and stood
38th nationwide. The owner of 14 double-figure
scoring affairs, among his many highlights was tying the
Eagles’ single-game standard with eight treys against
Guilford.
Julien Williams closed out a four-year career by earning
Honorable Mention All-UAA acclaim, starting in all 25 games and
averaging 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing with his
rebounding effort good for third place on the team. The
6-foot-2 Williams enjoyed a strong second half of the season,
scoring in double figures in nine of his last 11 games, and
concluded the conference portion of the schedule shooting 57.4
percent from the floor, good for first place on the team and fourth
on the league ladder. Career-wise, he appeared in 97 games,
86 as a starter, and grabbed a total of 470 rebounds, good for
13th place all-time at Emory.
All-University Athletic Association |
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Austin Claunch |
First Team |
Cypress, TX |
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Alex Greven |
Second Team |
Winston-Salem, NC |
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Jake Davis |
Second Team |
Cincinnati, OH |
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Alex Gulotta |
Honorable Mention |
Briarcliff Manor, NY |
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Julien Williams |
Honorable Mention |
Potomac, MD |
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University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year |
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Jake Davis |
Cincinnati, OH |
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UAA Player of the Week |
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Austin Claunch |
Nov. 29, 2010 |
Cypress, TX |
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Alex Greven |
Dec. 6, 2010 |
Winston-Salem, NC |
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Austin Claunch |
Jan. 24, 2011 |
Cypress, TX |
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Julien Williams |
Feb. 14, 2011 |
Potomac, MD |
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Austin Claunch |
Feb. 28, 2011 |
Cypress, TX |
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Georgia Basketball Coaches Association (GABCA) All-State Awards |
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Austin Claunch |
Player of the Year (D-III) |
Cypress, TX |
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Alex Greven |
Second Team |
Winston-Salem, NC |
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Jake Davis |
Second Team |
Cincinnati, OH |
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Alex Gulotta |
Second Team |
Briarcliff Manor, NY |
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Michael Friedberg |
Honorable Mention |
Woodcliff Lake, NJ |
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Julien Williams |
Honorable Mention |
Potomac, MD |
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Jason Zimmerman |
Coach of the Year |
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D3Hoops.Com Team Of The Week |
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Austin Claunch |
Feb. 8, 2011 |
Cypress, TX |
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Austin Claunch |
Jan. 26, 2011 |
Cypress, TX |
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D3hoops.com All-South Region | |||||
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NABC All-South Region |
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