Hawks’ Bembry Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, Schmidt Voted As Coach of the Year

BROOKLYN, N.Y.— Saint Joseph’s junior forward DeAndre’ Bembry was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year while St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt was voted A-10 Coach of the Year. The league announced its awards Tuesday in advance of the 2016 Men’s Basketball Championship, which begins Wednesday at Barclays Center.

Rhode Island junior forward Hassan Martin was named Defensive Player of the Year while Fordham freshman guard Joseph Chartouny was selected as Rookie of the Year. Saint Joseph’s Isaiah Miles was voted as the Chris Daniels Award winner, which is given to the A-10’s Most Improved Player. St. Bonaventure’s junior Denzel Gregg and Massachusetts’ senior Jabarie Hinds shared the Sixth Man of the Year award.

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 All-Academic team.

Bembry and Miles led Saint Joseph’s to a stellar season, one game out of first place in the league. Bembry averaged 17.0 points per game (12^th in the A-10), 7.8 rebounds (sixth in the A-10), 4.5 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game (both eighth in the A-10). Miles led the Hawks with 18 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. He recently scored his 1,000^th career point after entering the season with 444.

Schmidt, in his ninth season at St. Bonaventure, guided the Bonnies to a 22-7 overall record and school record 14-4 A-10 mark. Bona was Co-Champions of the regular season for the first time in school history after being picked to finish eighth in the preseason.

Defensively, Martin led the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots with 2.5 per game, the third straight year he’s held the top spot in rejections in the A-10. He also stepped into a bigger role on both ends of the floor when Rhode Island lost E.C. Mathews for the season in the first game of the year.

Chartouny garnered seven Rookie of the Week nods in leading a resurgence at Fordham. He led the league in assists with 6.2 per game, helping the Rams finish eighth in the conference race.

Gregg was a key cog in St. Bonaventure’s magical season. He averaged 10.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in Atlantic 10 play, helping the Bonnies win 11 of their last 12, including five straight to end the regular season.  Hinds averaged 14.2 points, 1.4 steals for the Minutemen, helping off the bench to several key wins, including an end of season victory over La Salle that gave UMass a first-round bye. He was named A-10 Player of the Week once this season.

The 2016 Championship begins Wednesday with two first-round games that will air on ASN and the A-10 Network. 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 1:30 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 Barclays Center Box Office.