Big South Announces 2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason Honors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – UNC Asheville forward
Drew Pember (Knoxville, Tenn.) has unanimously been voted the 2023-24 Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches and media panel, it was announced this morning. Pember is the first Big South student-athlete to be voted Preseason Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons since
Chris Clemons from 2017-19.
Pember was the 2022-23 Big South Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and earned Collegeinsider.com Lou Henson and Lute Olson All-America honors, as well as All-District distinction from the USBWA and NABC. The Knoxville, Tenn., native became the first player in Big South history to lead the league in scoring (20.9), rebounds (9.1) and blocked shots (2.3) in the same season, and was the national leader in free throws made with a Big South single-season record 266. Pember recorded three 40-point outings -- including a school-record 48 points against Presbyterian on Jan. 25 that was the most scored in a Division I game last year. The 2021-22 Big South Defensive Player of the Year led the Bulldogs to the Big South regular-season and tournament championships, and was voted Tournament MVP after averaging 29.7 points and 11.3 rebounds in the Bulldogs’ three-game run to the title. Pember received all 19 first-place votes and 190 total points in the voting to earn the top spot on the preseason All-Conference team.
2023-24 Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
First-Team
Drew Pember, UNC Asheville, 5th, F
Kelton Talford, Winthrop, Sr., F
DQ Nicholas, Gardner-Webb, Sr., G
DaQuan Smith, Radford, R-Sr., G
Bryan Antoine, Radford, Sr., G
Second-Team
Kasen Harrison, Winthrop, Sr., G
Justin Bailey, USC Upstate, So., G
Taje’ Kelly, Charleston Southern, Jr., F
Trae Broadnax, USC Upstate, R-Jr., G/F
Sin’Cere McMahon, Winthrop, Sr., G
Talford was an All-Big South First-Team selection in 2022-23 after leading the league and ranking sixth nationally with a 66.9 field goal percentage. He was second in the Big South with 8.2 rebounds and fourth in scoring with 16.2 points per game. Talford compiled eight double-doubles, in addition to 3.0 offensive rebounds per game.
Nicholas was a Second-Team All-Conference performer last season, as he provided 12.5 points along with 98 assists -- the seventh-most in the Big South. He also ranked among the conference leaders in steals and assist-to-turnover ratio, and scored a season-high 27 points in the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ home win over High Point last Jan. 28.
Smith was also a Second-Team All-Big South honoree in 2022-23. He earned All-District accolades from the NABC, and led the Highlanders with 13.9 points while shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc. Smith also averaged 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals in his 36 appearances. His 80 made three-pointers tied for 10th-most in school history.
Antoine collected Honorable Mention All-Conference honors last season, as he contributed 11.4 points, a team-high 52 steals, made 47.9 percent of his field goals, and drained 42.1 percent of his three-point attempts. Antoine also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in helping Radford advance to the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational.
The Preseason All-Conference Second-Team features five of the league’s 11 top returning scorers in McMahon (13.4), Harrison (11.5), Broadnax (11.1), Kelly (10.7) and Bailey (10.6).