Four members of the NCAA Tournament-bound Emory University men's basketball squad have been selected to the All-University Athletic Association Team. The all-league picks were chosen by the conference coaches. The Eagles had two players tabbed to the first team, one to the second team and one honorable mention selection.
Junior Adam Gigax (Mason, OH) captured a first-team berth for the third straight year after
ranking sixth on the league's score sheet in overall scoring average with a mark of 14.4 points per outing. A double-figure scorer in 17 of his 24 appearances, he has totaled five outings of 20 or more points, three of which came during conference play. The Eagles' top point producer in 10 games, he notched a season-high 27 points in an 82-80 victory at Carnegie Mellon (Feb. 9). One of Division III's top long-range shooters, he has knocked down a team-high 67 treys this year (tying for sixth on school's seasonal list) and his mark of 2.8 treys per game is second among UAA players. Gigax has posted 15 contests of three or more three-point field goals this season and his 39.2 percent (67 of 171) from distance is second in the conference. Named UAA Player of the Week on Jan. 16, he became the 15th player in program history to reach the 1,000 career-point plateau on Dec. 29 against Transylvania. Heading into the NCAA D-III Tournament, Gigax holds down the No. 8 spot on the school's all-time scoring chart with 1,209 points. He becomes the fifth player in program history to have garnered three first-team berths, joining Tim Garrett (1988-89-90), Chase Fawsett (2003-04-05), Austin Claunch (2010-11-12) and Jake Davis (2012-13-14) in that exclusive club.
Senior Whit Rapp (Noblesville, IN) joined Gigax on the first team after enjoying an outstanding regular season at his point-guard position. In his 19 appearances Rapp is averaging 7.1 assists, good for the No. 1 spot among UAA players, No. 4 in the D-III ranks and fourth on the school's seasonal chart. He has doled out 10 or more assists in three games this year, and his total of 135
ranks him 35th among D-III players and slots him 10th on the Eagles' seasonal chart. He has an outstanding assist/turnover ratio of 3.65 that sets the pace in the UAA and that stands seventh nationally. His quarterbacking of the Emory offensive attack has helped the Eagles to No. 2 positions among UAA teams in both scoring offense (82.2 ppg) and field goal percentage (.462). Rapp has tossed in 6.7 points per outing, with six double-figure scoring contests to his credit, and his per-game average of 4.7 rebounds per game is good for the No. 2 spot on the club and 17th in the league. Rapp started all 14 UAA contests and topped the conference in assists (6.7 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (3.5). In his last five outings, Rapp has dished out 41 assists while turning the ball over just four times. He became the school's all-time leader in assists on Feb. 16 and heads into the postseason with 597.
Freshman Romin Williams (Harvey, LA) was a double-honoree with his selection to the second team while also being tabbed as the conference's Rookie of the Year. Williams paces the team and stands fourth in the league in overall scoring average, popping in 15.3 points per game with that effort pacing all of the league's newcomers. A double-figure scorer in 19 of his 24 appearances, he has ranked as the squad's leading point producer on nine occasions, most recently against NYU (Feb. 16) when he rang up 21 points. Among his performances is a season-high 31 points vs. Chicago (Jan. 26) that ranks as the high-water mark by an Emory player this season. In league action, he scored at a 13.6 per-game clip, good for the No. 7 spot in the conference chart.
He is second on the Emory score sheet with 57 three-point field goals (17th on the program's seasonal chart) and his 39.6 effort (57-144) from beyond the arc slots him in the No. 8 position on the conference ladder. He has converted two or more treys in 14 contests and his average of 2.4 triples per game is fourth in the league. Other UAA overall statistical categories that he finds himself ranked prominently include field goal percentage (78h, .421), free throw percentage (4th, .761 (67-88), assists (14th, 2.5 apg), and steals (11th, 1.2 spg). Williams has totaled 368 points this year, the second-highest total ever by an Emory freshman and he is just six points from tying Tim Garrett's current record of 374 points set during the 1986-87 campaign. He is the second Emory cager to have been selected UAA Rookie of the Year since its inception in 2001, with Jake Davis (2011) the other honoree.
Senior Christopher Avant (The Woodlands, TX) rounded out the group with his honorable-mention selection. The 6-foot-8 Avant concluded the regular season as the squad's top rebounder with a per-game average of 7.1, good for seventh place on the UAA list. The team's top rebounder on 15 occasions this year, he has grabbed 10 or more boards in six games and is averaging 2.9 rebounds per outing on the offensive end of the floor, the fourth-best mark in the UAA. In conference action, he stood 10th on the UAA ladder in rebounding (6.1 rpg). In the scoring department, he is averaging 11.4 points per contest, third on the team and 16th on the league ladder. He has scored 10 or more points in 15 games and has paced the Eagles in scoring on three occasions. He has been successful on 53.6 percent (112 of 209) of his field goal opportunities and 81.8 percent (45 of 55) from the foul line.
Emory, 21-4 overall and ranked No. 6 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Polll, has earned its sixth straight trip to the NCAA D-III Tournament, and will host the opening two rounds this weekend (Mar. 2-3). The Eagles' opening-round foe will be Berry College, the Southern Athletic Association championship, with that game taking place on Friday at 7:30 pm. Preceding that contest will be the LeTourneau University vs. Hanover College match-up at 5:30 pm. The two winners advance to Saturday evening's second round starting at 7:00 pm.