BOSTON, Mass. – Illinois State junior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell – the Missouri Valley Conference's Newcomer of the Year – is one of 26 national finalists for the 2015 Riley Wallace Award, presented annually to the top transfer in NCAA Division I basketball, as released by CollegeInsider.com Tuesday.
The recipient of the Riley Wallace Award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet Friday, April 3, in Indianapolis, home of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship. Each of the 26 players on the list has also been designated a Riley Wallace All-American.
Akoon-Purcell led all Missouri Valley Conference newcomers in scoring, while ranking second on the team and seventh in the league with an average of 12.8 points per game in 2014-15. The Orlando, Florida, native finished the season as ISU's leading rebounder, averaging 5.6 boards per contest.
Despite missing seven games with a broken hand, Akoon-Purcell reached double-digit scoring in 20 of his 28 contests. He also earned a team-best two double-doubles, while making 18 starts. Akoon-Purcell was named MVC Newcomer of the Year while also earning a spot on the MVC All-Newcomer Team.
The Riley Wallace award is named after the former Hawaii men's basketball coach who welcomed several transfers into the program, helping him become the winningest coach in Hawaii history. Wallace guided Hawaii to nine postseason appearances, including a school-record streak of four-straight from 2001-04.
On Monday, ISU sophomore center Reggie Lynch was named a finalist for the Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year Award, also presented by CollegeInsider.com. As a nominee, Lynch was designated a Defensive All-American.
2015 RILEY WALLACE ALL-AMERICA TEAM
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, Illinois State
Dwayne Benjamin, Oregon
Jaylon Bond, Temple
Martin Breunig, Montana
Aaron Bright, Saint Mary's
Octavius Ellis, Cincinnati
Bryn Forbes, Michigan State
Trey Freeman, Old Dominion
Juan'Ya Green, Hofstra
Danuel House, Texas A&M
Trevor Lacey, NC State
Matt Lopez, Rider
Sheldon McClellan, Miami
Jameel McKay, Iowa State
Stefan Moody, Ole Miss
Mike Myers, UMES
Deondre Parks, South Dakota State
Gary Payton II, Oregon State
Jordan Price, La Salle
Rodney Pryor, Robert Morris
Jeff Short, Norfolk State
Evan Singletary, Albany
Deville Smith, UT Martin
TaShawn Thomas, Oklahoma
Darien Walker, Valparaiso
Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga
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