News and Notes - The Tribe claimed just its third regular season conference championship and its first in 17 years, winning the CAA in 2015. W&M is the No. 1 seed in the CAA Championship for the first time in school history.
- W&M will face No. 8 seed Elon in the CAA Quarterfinals at noon on Saturday, March 7. W&M split with Elon, each winning on its home floor, during the regular season. The Phoenix downed W&M, 85-79, on Jan. 8 in North Carolina, before the Green and Gold upended Elon, 77-58, on Feb. 11 in Williamsburg.
- Since 2008, the Tribe leads all CAA teams in victories in the league tournament with eight. W&M has advanced to three CAA Championship Games in the last seven years and is the only current league member with multiple title game appearances over that stretch.
- Senior guard
Marcus Thornton, who became W&M's all-time leading scorer, is the first Tribe player to be named the CAA Player of the Year. He was a First-Team All-CAA selection for the second straight season.
- Junior
Terry Tarpey, who is the only player in the country to lead his league in rebounding, steals and blocked shots, became the first player in W&M history to be named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
Tribe Tourney Success Under Shaver No W&M head coach has enjoyed more success in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament than current Tribe headman and two-time CAA Coach of the Year
Tony Shaver. In the 18 years prior to Shaver's arrival in Williamsburg, the College totaled just two CAA Tournament wins. Over the last 12 under his direction, the Green and Gold owns nine league tournament wins, including the program's first three CAA Championship Game appearances in 2008, 2010 and 2014.
Winning at the CAA Tournament Since 2008, the Tribe is among the elite in the league when it comes to winning at the CAA Championship. W&M is the only current CAA program to compete in the CAA Championship Game on multiple occasions during the stretch, playing in three over the last seven years. The program's eight wins in the CAA Championship since 2008 are also tops in the league.
CAA Tournament Wins Since 2008 W&M - 8 Delaware - 7
James Madison - 5
Northeastern - 5
Towson - 5
Hofstra - 4
Drexel - 3
UNCW - 2
CAA Regular Season Champions The Tribe won the program's first Colonial Athletic Association regular season in 17 years and garnered the No. 1 seed in the league tournament for the first time in W&M history. W&M finished the CAA slate at 12-6 and in a share of the top spot with UNCW, Northeastern and James Madison. By virtue of its 5-1 mark against the trio, the Green and Gold earned the No. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament. The 2015 regular season crown is the third regular season conference championship in school history. The Tribe won the 1982-83 ECAC South regular season title following a 9-0 conference ledger. W&M finished the 1997-98 season at 13-3 and tied for the top spot in the CAA with UNCW, but was the No. 2 seed in the tournament after losing out on tiebreakers.
Tribe Trio Named All-CAA For the first time in program history, three W&M players garnered All-CAA honors as the Green and Gold placed a player on each of the three teams, the only team in the league to accomplish the feat this season. Senior guard
Marcus Thornton earned All-CAA first team honors for the second straight season. Junior
Terry Tarpey and sophomore
Omar Prewitt each garnered All-CAA honors for the first time as Tarpey was a member of the second team and Prewitt received a third-team nod. On 12 previous occasions, the Tribe placed two players on an all-conference team, pulling the trick six times as a member of the Southern Conference, one time in the ECAC South and five times in the CAA. It marks the third straight season in which the Tribe had multiple All-CAA honorees. Thornton, Tarpey and Prewitt bring the total of All-CAA players under head coach
Tony Shaver to 16.
Thornton Named CAA Player of the Year Senior guard
Marcus Thornton became the first player in W&M history to be named the CAA Player of the Year. He is just the third Green and Gold player in program lore to earned conference player of the year accolades, joining Jeff Cohen (1961) and Tom Jasper (1971), who were both named Southern Conference Player of the Year. Prior to the 2014-15 season, Thornton became just the second player in W&M history to be named the league's preseason player of the year, joining Adam Hess in 2004. Thornton ranked second in the CAA and 21st nationally at 19.4 points per game. He became the Tribe's all-time leading scorer, topping the oldest Division I scoring record in the country, on Feb. 25. His 2,081 career points also rank 11th in CAA history.
Thornton Two-Time First-Team, Three-time All-CAA Senior
Marcus Thornton joins Adam Hess as the only W&M players to receive First-Team All-CAA honors twice in a career. He is just the second Tribe player, along with Thomas Roberts, to earn All-CAA accolades on three occasions during his career. Roberts was a second-team pick in 1991, 1992 and 1993, while Hess was a first-team choice in 2003 and 2004. Along with first-team honors each of the last two years, Thornton was a second-team honoree as a sophomore in 2013. Across all its conference affiliations, Thornton is just the seventh W&M player to earn multiple first-team all-league honors and only the fifth to earn three all-conference nods over his career.
Tarpey Named CAA Defensive Player of the Year Junior
Terry Tarpey became the first Tribe player to be named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year. Coupled with
Marcus Thornton's player of the year award, it marks the fifth time in CAA history that a team had both the player of the year and defensive player of the year in the same season. Tarpey leads the CAA in rebounding (8.4), defensive rebounding (7.3), blocked shots (1.4) and steals (1.8). Along with being the first Defensive Player of the Year in program history, he became the first W&M player since Jimmy Moran in 2000 to be named to the CAA All-Defensive Team. Tarpey is the only player in the country this season to lead his league in rebounding, blocked shots and steals.
Schalk Named Dean Ehlers Leadership Award Winner Senior
Tom Schalk continued the Tribe's rich tradition of taking home the CAA's most prestigious honor in the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award winner. Schalk's award marks the fifth time in the last six years that a W&M player garnered the honor. The distinction, which has been presented to the deserving men's and women's basketball player since 1995, is named after former James Madison athletic director Dean Ehlers, who was a founding member of the conference, served as its first President and was a recognized leader through his membership on numerous NCAA Committees. The award is given to the student-athlete who “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.” Schalk owns a stellar GPA of better than 3.5 while majoring in accounting and has already been accepted to graduate school in W&M's Masters in Accounting program next fall. He was selected for an internship program with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Schalk is a three-time recipient of the W&M Provost Award, a two-time CAA All-Academic Team pick, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and was chosen to represent the College in the 2014 Grant Thornton Program for emerging leaders. Schalk is involved with the Williamsburg Community Chapel where he works with local teens leading bible study groups and mentoring. On the court, he has appeared in more than 82 career games. Schalk has played a key role in the post for W&M this season, averaging nearly five points and three rebounds per game while also contributing 15 blocked shots. He scored a career-high 13 points in a victory at UNCW on Feb. 7, including the game-winning bucket off an offensive rebound.
Schalk, Schlotman Earn All-Academic Team Honors The Tribe placed two players, senior
Tom Schalk and redshirt freshman
Michael Schlotman, among the 15 on the CAA All-Academic Team. W&M was one of four teams in the league to have multiple players on the All-Academic team. It marks the second time in his career that Schalk was an All-Academic selection, while Schlotman earned the honor for the first time in his first year of eligibility. A three-time Provost Award winner, Schalk will graduate from W&M in May with a degree in accounting and has already been accepted to the masters of accounting program next fall at W&M. Schlotman, who has appeared in 22 games with a start this season, is a business major and was a Provost Award winner as a freshman last season. Under head coach
Tony Shaver, the Tribe has had 38 CAA All-Academic team honorees, the most in the CAA since 2004.
Oldest Division I Scoring Record Falls Senior
Marcus Thornton broke the oldest Division I school scoring record in the country with 23 points in the Tribe's win over Towson on Feb. 25. With the first of two free throws at the end of the first half, Thornton surpassed Chet Giermack, who held the program mark of 2,052 points since graduating from the College in 1950. Thornton's career scoring mark currently stands at 2,081 points. He became just the third player in W&M history and 12th in CAA lore to score 2,000 career points with his 17-point effort at Northeastern on Feb. 18. As part of his assault on the Tribe's scoring record, Thornton recorded some of the highest single-season total in program annals. With his 562 points in 2014-15, which rank 12th in Tribe lore, Thornton is the only W&M player with three seasons of 500 or more points. He scored 565 points as a sophomore in 2013 and followed it with 599 in 2014. Those total rank 10th and fifth, respectively, in W&M history.
Winner Winner With its victory over Towson on Feb. 25, the Tribe won its 18th game of the year, marking the eighth time in the 110-year history of W&M basketball that W&M posted 18 or more wins in a season. It is the third time in the last six years under head coach
Tony Shaver that W&M won 18 or more games. By comparison, W&M had just two seasons of 18 or more wins in the 52 years prior to Shaver's arrival in Williamsburg. The 18 wins rank eighth in W&M history and the Tribe has produced four of the top nine win totals in program history under Shaver. Coupled with the Tribe's 20-12 mark in 2013-14, W&M has posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 31 years, since 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons.
In the National Rankings The Tribe ranks among the top 100 nationally in a number of statistical categories. Here is a look at where W&M ranks nationally (as of March 2):
6th in Field Goal Pct. (49.2)
11th in 3-Point Pct. (40.0)
20th in Fewest Fouls per game (15.5)
21st in 3-Pointers Made Per Game (8.6)
18th in Free Throw Pct. (73.9)
36th in Assist-to-Turnover Ratio (1.29)
41st in Assists Per Game (15.0)
47th in Scoring Offense (73.2)
67th in Scoring Margin (7.1)
65th in Defensive Rebounds Per Game (25.0)
68th in Blocked Shots Per Game (4.4)
72nd in Fewest Turnovers Per Game (11.6)
100th in Winning Percentage (62.1)
Staff Sheet Stuff Junior
Terry Tarpey is one of the top stat stuffers in the country. He is the only player nationally to lead his league in rebounds, blocked shots and steals per game. The 6-5 wing tops the CAA at 8.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. As of March 2, Tarpey is one of only 11 Division I players in the country to average at least 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocked shots per game. He is the only player listed at 6-foot-5 or shorter on that list. Tarpey ranks among the top 10 in the CAA in eight different categories. Along with leading the league in rebounding, defensive rebounding, steals and blocked shots, he is third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9) and field goal percentage (54.3), sixth in free throw percentage (81.7) and seventh in assists (3.2). Tarpey is also 18th in the CAA in scoring at 12 points per game.
Chairman of the Boards Junior
Terry Tarpey has been not only the Tribe's top rebounder this season, but also the best player on the glass in the CAA. Despite being just 6-foot-5, the Stamford, Conn., native leads the CAA at 8.4 rebounds per game. His rebounding average ranks 51st nationally, as of March 2, and is the seventh-best in W&M history since 1973. Tarpey's 236 rebounds are the fifth most in program history since 1973. In 23 of his 28 games this season, Tarpey has led the Tribe in rebounding, including 11 games of double-digit boards. The Tribe junior ranks ninth in the country in defensive rebounding in both average and percentage. He averages 7.3 defensive rebounds per game, and his defensive rebounding percentage is 27.5, according to KenPom.com. Tarpey's 542 career rebounds are seventh among active CAA players and 22nd in W&M history.
Dixon From Deep In just his second season on campus, sophomore
Daniel Dixon has cemented himself as one of the top 3-point shooters in the country. Despite missing five games due to a hamstring injury, Dixon ranks third nationally at 46.2 percent (61-of-132) from 3-pointer range, averaging 2.54 triples per contest. He leads the CAA in 3-point shooting as well, and at his current pace would surpass the current Tribe school record of 45.5 percent set by Quinn McDowell in 2011. Dixon's 3-pointers made per game rank fourth in the CAA and sixth in W&M history. His career 3-point percentage of 43.7 (86-of-197) is 12th among active Division I players and would be the Tribe's school record.
Top Scoring Teams in School History For the third time in the last six seasons, the Tribe has enjoyed one of the top scoring seasons in school history. W&M's 2,122 points this season currently ranks fifth in program annals. The school record is 2,340 points scored by last season's team. The Green and Gold is 218 points shy of setting the school record. The Tribe's 73.2 points per game this season ranks second in the CAA and is the best scoring W&M average since 1995-96.
