NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) announced the 2017-18 College Division All-State Men's Basketball Teams on Friday morning, showcasing a depth of talent across the commonwealth with nine different programs represented. Averett University senior guard James Contreras, Jr. was named the Player of the Year and Bridgewater College freshman guard Dimetri Chambers hauled in Rookie of the Year laurels.
Rounding out the major award winners for the third straight year was Christopher Newport's John Krikorian being named Coach of the Year. The first team All-State student-athletes hailed from five different schools and of the ten All-State selections, only UVA-Wise had more than one with a pair of second team picks.
Contreras, Jr. was named the D3hoops.com South Region Player of the Year after being selected as the USA South Athletic Conference Player of the Year as well. The Virginia Beach native was also an NABC First Team All-District pick and was twice honored as the league's Player of the Week. He is the first Averett player to be named VaSID State Player of the Year since 2009 when Jonathan Rumley collected the honor.
A 6-0 guard, Contreras, Jr. averaged 23.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while leading the conference in minutes and field goals made. He also set the program's single season free-throws made record and rounded out his career as the third all-time leading scorer in Cougars history, with 1,520 career points.
The first VaSID Rookie of the Year in program history, Dimetri Chambers helped lead the Bridgewater Eagles to a 14-win season for just the second time in nearly a decade. He was named the ODAC Rookie of the Year and earned a spot as a third team All-ODAC selection following an exceptional first year. He set the freshman scoring record for Bridgewater in the ODAC era with 398 points, averaging 15.3 points per game during the season.
Rounding out the major award winners is Christopher Newport head coach John Krikorian, who hauled in his third straight VaSID Coach of the Year designation. He was also named the Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the third straight season after leading the Captains back to the postseason with an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. CNU finished 22-7 overall with a 14-4 league mark, including a win over No. 8 York (Pa.) to win the regular season title in the final game of the year.
A total of nine schools were represented on the 10-man All-State squad with only UVA's College at Wise having more than one honoree. Contreras, Jr. earned first team honors and was joined by Romello Anderson (Apprentice), Josh Freund (Roanoke), Aaron McFarland (CNU), and Clayton Murtha (Washington & Lee).
The All-State second team was comprised of Taiwo Badmus (UVA-Wise), Chase Branscomb (Emory & Henry), Connor Schroeder (Lynchburg), Michal Seals (UVA-Wise), and Eric Shaw (Mary Washington).
VaSID names 29 all-state teams in 16 sports each year, as well as an Academic All-State squad and an all-sports champion in both the University and College Divisions. Membership to VaSID is open to all media relations professionals working at a University or conference in the state of Virginia.
Complete team:
Player of the Year: James Contreras, Jr. – Averett University
Coach of the Year: John Krikorian – Christopher Newport University
Rookie of the Year: Dimetri Chambers – Bridgewater College
All-State First Team
Romello Anderson – Apprentice School
James Contreras, Jr. – Averett University
Josh Freund – Roanoke College
Aaron McFarland – Christopher Newport University
Clayton Murtha – Washington & Lee University
All-State Second Team
Taiwo Badmus – University of Virginia's College at Wise
Chase Branscomb – Emory & Henry College
Connor Schroeder – Lynchburg College
Michal Seals – University of Virginia's College at Wise
Eric Shaw – University of Mary Washington