| GREENWOOD, Ind. – Just days after leading Defiance to its most successful season in 15 years, Jon Miller and Anthony Pettaway received high honors from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Miller was tabbed as the HCAC Coach of the Year, while Pettaway was named Player of the Year. C.J Johnson, Bryan Post, Anthony Jackson and Mike Floyd were also named to the All-HCAC squad.
The Yellow Jackets went 19-8 overall and 13-3 in HCAC play en route to winning the program’s first outright league championship since 1993-94. The 19 victories mark DC’s highest total since winning 21 in 1992-93. Defiance led the conference race from start to finish and ended the season ranked first or second in the league in 12 statistical categories. DC’s three-game spread over second place in the standings was the HCAC’s widest margin in three years.
Miller’s fifth-season was his best at Defiance and continued what has been a steady climb for the program since his arrival. Along with guiding DC to the HCAC regular season championship, Miller led the Yellow Jackets to their second-straight appearance in the HCAC Tournament Finals. The 36 combined wins over the past two years is the most in a two-year period for DC since posting 38 victories during the 1992-93 and 1993-94 campaigns.
Pettaway was named the HCAC Player of the Year after ranking third in the conference in scoring (16.2), second in rebounding (8.7), third in blocks (1.8), fourth in field goal percentage (61.5) and seventh in steals (1.5) through 16 league games. Pettaway was tabbed as a Basketball Times Preseason All-American and went on to claim a pair of HCAC Player of the Week awards, one D3hoops.com Team-of-the-Week honor and was named as the league’s Athlete of the Month in December. The Toledo, Ohio, native also earned a spot on the HCAC All-Tournament Team, was named the Purple and Gold Financial Tournament MVP and led DC with 11 double-double games. Pettaway closed the season on an absolute tear, joining the 1,000-point club in DC’s 95-86 HCAC Semifinal win against Anderson and leading the Jackets in scoring and rebounding in eight of their last nine games.
Johnson was selected as an All-HCAC player for the fourth time in as many years. Johnson was previously named the HCAC Freshman of the Year before taking Honorable Mention All-HCAC honors as a sophomore and junior. The senior guard posted his finest season en route to the All-HCAC selection, setting new career highs in scoring, steals and three-point field goal percentage. Johnson also ranked favorably amongst HCAC players in those areas after 16 league games, as he led the conference in scoring (17.0), was second in three-point percentage (49.4), third in free throw percentage (88.5) and seventh in steals (1.5). Johnson is 15th in DC history with 1,374 points and fourth in the record books with 266 career assists and is the only player in school history to rank top 15 in scoring and top five in assists. The Toledo, Ohio, native was a two-time HCAC Player of the Week, the HCAC Player of the Month in January and earned spots on the All-P&G and All-HCAC Tournament Teams.
Post was named Honorable Mention All-HCAC after starting 25 games for the Yellow Jackets and setting a new single-season career high with 124 total rebounds. The senior forward and defensive specialist notched his second season with over 35 steals, ending with 38 and ranking third in the conference with 1.8 swipes a night in league play. The St. Henry product also ranked 11th with 4.9 boards a game in 16 conference games and hauled in 1.8 offensive caroms per game for a sixth-place ranking.
Jackson also earned Honorable Mention All-HCAC status after setting career highs with 200 points and 25 steals during his junior season. Jackson registered eight double-digit scoring contests at DC’s three-guard position and was a threat from beyond the arc. The Ayersville, Ohio, native connected on 39.4 percent of his attempts from downtown and ranked 15th in the HCAC in that statistic. Jackson provided a major boost to DC in the HCAC Tournament, where he averaged 12.0 points a game and was a perfect four-of-four from three-point territory.
Floyd joins Post and Jackson on the Honorable Mention All-HCAC list and rounds out the postseason conference accolades for Defiance. The sophomore point guard returned to the team at the season’s midway point and lifted the squad to a 76.6 points a night scoring clip in his 14 starts. Floyd was the HCAC’s top assist artist, dishing out 4.1 helpers a game in league action to go with 7.2 points. The Toledo, Ohio, native and St. John’s Jesuit product set a new single-game HCAC Tournament record with 12 assists in DC’s win over AU in the semifinals.
Defiance is set to return all but two players from this year’s HCAC regular season championship team as it looks to defend its title in 2008-09.
Click here to view the full All-HCAC list.
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