2012 NAIA DII All-Americans
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced its 2012 men's basketball All-Americans and Davenport placed three student-athletes on the lists. James Humphrey was named a 2nd Team All-American while fellow senior James Nelson was placed on the third time. JaVontae Ford rounded out the honors for the 32-5 Panthers on the honorable mention list.
Many of the 14 student-athletes that appeared in a game this season for the Davenport University men's basketball team could easily have been honored the way three were on Wednesday but the All-American committee placed James Humphrey on the second team, James Nelson on the third team and JaVontae Ford on the honorable mention list.
Davenport set school records in many different categories in 2011-2012 while posting a program best 32 wins and advancing to their first ever Fab Four at the NAIA DII national tournament.
James Humphrey became the quiet leader for Davenport all season as the senior finished third on the team in scoring averaging 11.6 points per game while pulling down a team best 5.9 rebounds per night. James broke his own record for blocks in a game (7) and season (65) while becoming the school's all-time leader in the latter. Humphrey also earned 1st Team All-WHAC honors and was named to the All-Defensive team in the conference as well.
"Has been instrumental in our turnaround the last two years, said head coach Burt Paddock. He has been incredibly selfless for the betterment of the team. He could of scored many more pts and played more minutes at other places. But, his willingness to be a part of a special TEAM was a true reason for our success."
James Nelson set many school records in his final season in a Panther uniform as he became the all-time leader in points (1753) and field goals (661) while leading DU in scoring at 16.0 points per night. Nelson also finished second on the team in assists (84), steals (61) and rebounding (4.8 per game). James was named 2nd Team All-WHAC for the second straight season and made the 2011-12 NAIA DII All-Tournament team.
"He was one of my very first signees and will go down as one of the all-time greats in DU history, noted Paddock. He was a trremendous teammate and leader for our team this yr and is incredibly deserving of this award."
JaVontae Ford broke onto the DU basketball season a red-shirt freshman last season and posted even more impressive numbers during his second go-round. Ford was second on the team in scoring averaging 14.6 points per game while setting a DU single season record in 3-pointers made with 86. Ford also set the single game steals record with nine against UM-Dearborn and joined Nelson on the 2nd Team All-WHAC squad.
"He ALWAYS thinks of team first and as a coach I couldn't be more blessed, added Paddock. He truly deserves this award and the great thing is that he is going to continue to help us move the program forward for the next two years."
The three helped Davenport claim their first ever WHAC regular season championship and WHAC Tournament title in route to their third consecutive appearance at the NAIA DII National Tournament in Point Lookout, Mo. where they advanced to the school's first ever Fab Four.
