Six members of the Emory University men’s basketball
program have earned recognition on the 2010-11 Georgia Basketball
Coaches Association (GABCA) All-State Awards Team.
Junior Austin Claunch headlines the group with his
berth on the first team and selection as the Division III player of
the year in the state, the second consecutive time that he has been
tabbed for the honor. The 5-foot-9 Claunch ranked among the
top 10 University Athletic Association players in six statistical
categories and topped the league in assists (7.4 apg), steals (1.9
spg), free throw percentage (.875) and minutes (36.4 mpg). He
paced the squad and ranked fifth in the UAA in scoring with a 16.5
per-game average and recorded 22 games of double-figure
scoring. He established a school record with 186 assists and
his 7.4 per-game effort in that department ranked third on the
national scene.
The Eagles had thre cagers land second-team honors, sophomore
Alex Greven, freshman Jake Davis
and junior Alex Gulotta. The 6-foot-3 Greven
tossed in 14.5 points per contest, second on the team and eighth in
the conference, notched 20 games of double-figure scoring and led
or shared for team scoring honors on five occasions. He
chalked up the top-two scoring performances by an Eagle during the
year – 31 points against Methodist (Dec. 4), which helped him
earn UAA Player of the Week honors, and 28 points vs. Oglethorpe
(Nov. 17).
The 6-foot-5 Davis, who was also named the state’s D-III
Rookie of the Year, finished No. 3 on the club and 10th
in the UAA in scoring with 13.3 per-game effort pacing the
league’s freshmen. Davis grabbed a team-high 6.5
rebounds per contest, good for the No. 6 spot on the UAA ladder,
and figured prominently among conference players in both field goal
percentage (10th, .478) and free throw
percentage (5th, .830). A double-figure scorer on
18 occasions, Davis ended the year with 332 points, the
third-highest total by an Eagle freshman.
One of the premier long-range shooters in Division III, the
6-foot-1 Gulotta was third in the UAA and 10th
nationally with a 45.8 percent showing from three-point
range. He knocked down 71 treys, the third-highest mark in
school annals, and his 2.8 makes per game from distance topped the
conference and stood 38th nationwide. He tossed in
11.8 points per contest and totaled 14 double-figure scoring games.
Among his many highlights from the past campaign was tying
the Emory single-game record with eight triples against
Guilford.
Senior Julien Williams and sophomore
Michael Friedberg were honorable-mention picks to
the all-state team. Williams, 6-foot-2, started all 25 games
and averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while the
6-foot-6 Friedberg started 23 of the 24 contests he appeared in and
averaged 8.5 points, 6.0 rebounds (second high on the team) and a
team-high 2.1 blocked shots per stint.
Jason Zimmerman was tabbed as the GABCA Division
III Coach of the Year for the second straight season after guiding
the Eagles to an overall record of 20-5 including an 11-3 slate in
University Athletic Association play. Emory’s win
overall win total was the second highest in school history while
the 11 victories in league affairs also represented the
second-highest mark. Zimmerman saw his team lead the UAA in
scoring (83.6 ppg, 14th nationally), scoring
margin (+9.4, 33rd nationally), free throw percentage
(.790, 2nd nationally), steals (7.7 spg), three-point
field goals per game (8.8 tpg, 15th nationally) and
turnover margin (+3.2, 42nd nationally).