Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Roberts and Williams Named First Team All-MVC
02/26/2002 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
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Feb. 26, 2002
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - A pair of Salukis, Rolan Roberts and Kent Williams, were named First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference, the league announced Tuesday.
Roberts was also named the conference's "Newcomer of the Year" and "Defensive Player of the Year."
A 6-foot-6, 250-pound senior center, Roberts is second on the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game. He also leads the team and the league in blocked shots with 75.
Williams, 6-foot-2 junior guard, is SIU's leading scorer with 16.2 points per game and leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.2-1. He finished second in the balloting for Player of the Year behind Creighton's Kyle Korver.
It marked just the second time in school history that two SIU players were named to the first team in the same year. Chris Carr and Marcus Timmons were both first teamers in 1995.
A third Saluki, junior forward Jermaine Dearman, was named honorable mention all-conference. The 6-foot-8 junior forward averages 11.6 points and leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game.
The Coach of the Year in the MVC will be announced Friday.
Southern Illinois (24-6) is the number one seed in the conference tournament and will play Saturday at noon against the winner of the Indiana State-Bradley game.
