Cline Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, Miller Voted as Coach of the Year

PITTSBURGH — Richmond senior forward T.J. Cline was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year while Dayton coach Archie Miller was voted A-10 Coach of the Year. The league announced its awards Tuesday in advance of the 2017 Men’s Basketball Championship, which begins Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena.

Rhode Island senior forward Hassan Martin was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row while Richmond freshman guard De’Monte Buckingham was selected as Rookie of the Year. George Mason senior guard Marquise Moore was voted as the Chris Daniels Award winner, which is given to the A-10’s Most Improved Player. Dayton senior guard Kyle Davis was selected as the Sixth Man of the Year.

The major awards, the 15-member All-Conference teams, All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams were all nominated and voted by the conference’s 14 head coaches. The basketball communications directors select the five-member All-Academic team.

Cline and Buckingham led Richmond to a third-place finish in the A-10. Cline recorded two triple-doubles this season, was a four-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, and was named National Player of the Week Jan. 29. He averaged 18.6 points per game (fifth in the A-10), 8.1 rebounds (third in the A-10), and 5.7 assists per game (second in the A-10). Buckingham was named A-10 Rookie of the Week three times, including the final week of the season. He ranked 15^th in rebounding (5.9 per game) and eighth in steals (1.6 per game) in the league. He averaged 9.9 points per game. It marks just the third time in league history that the Player and Rookie of the Year are from the same team, and the first time since 1988.

Miller, in his sixth season at Dayton, guided the Flyers to a 24-6 overall record and a 15-3 A-10 mark. Dayton won the A-10 regular season for the second straight year. Dayton’s senior class is the winningest in school history.

Defensively, Martin led the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots with 2.6 per game, the fourth straight year he’s held the top spot in rejections in the A-10. He also ranked 17^th in scoring (14 points per game) in the conference and eighth in rebounding (7.1 per game).

Moore, a guard, led the league in rebounding with 10.5 per game. He averaged a double-double with 17.4 points per game and the led the A-10 with 18 double-doubles. Moore also registered a triple-double this season. He averaged 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds a year ago.

Davis was a key cog in Dayton’s run to the regular season title. He averaged 8.3 points and 2.7 assists for the Flyers. He ranked sixth in steals (1.7 per game) in the A-10.

The 2017 Championship begins Wednesday with two first-round games that will air on ASN. Thursday features four second-round games and Friday is the quarterfinals. Thursday’s and Friday’s games will be carried by NBCSN. Semifinals begin Saturday at 1:00 pm on CBS Sports Network and the Championship final is Sunday at 12:30 pm on CBS Sports. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or at the PPG Paints Arena Box Office.