Full America East Release
Boston , MA – UMBC sophomore guard
Dion Brown (Great Barrington, Mass./Vermont Academy) and junior guard
Marcus Banks Jr. (Hampton, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) were both selected to the 2023-24 America East All-Conference teams, it was announced by the league office on Thursday morning. Brown earned First Team accolades while Banks Jr. slotted on the Third Team. In addition, freshmen guards
Ace Valentine (Columbia, Md./Mount St. Joseph) and
Franck Emmou (Mansfield, TX/Mansfield Summit) were named to the All-Rookie Team.
It's been a breakout season for Brown, a two-time AE Player of the Week pick this season. Brown broke Jairus Lyles' UMBC sophomore record of 482 points set in 2015-2016 and now has 589 points. Only seven players in program history have scored 500 points in a season and just three have hit the 600-point mark.
Brown is third in the league in scoring (19.0 ppg.) and sits sixth in rebounding (7.7 rpg.). He led the America East in scoring (21.4 ppg.) and rebounding (9.6 rpg.) in league games. Brown's 82 offensive rebounds on the season is also a league-high. He's produced 20 or more points 15 times this season, including ten in conference play. Brown leads the league in conference games with eight doubles-doubles, eight 10-rebound games and ten 20-point performances.
Brown currently has the fifth highest scoring season in UMBC history and needs just 16 points to move into fourth place and 22 points for third. His 239 field goals this season is already a sophomore record, and he ranks 6th in the NCAA in the category. Brown has converted the third-most field goals in UMBC single-season history and needs 11 more to climb up to second.
Banks Jr. is second in the AE in 3-pt field goals per game (2.6) and is 7th in 3-pt accuracy (35.0). He's also 7th overall in scoring at 14.8 ppg. and is averaging 18.9 ppg. in conference contests, which ranks 4th in the league.
Banks Jr. is also averaging a league-best 3.0 treys per game in AE contests. He's 66th in the NCAA with 80 treys and has moved into a tie for 6th-place on UMBC's single-season top-10 in the category. Banks Jr, who has poured in 20 or points in nine contests, needs just two more treys to move up to 4th.
Emmou, a two-time AE Rookie of the Week has shot the ball extremely well in his first season in Baltimore. Emmou, who scored a career-high 24 points at UAlbany on Feb. 3, is 30-for-60 from 3-point territory and is 44-for-50 (.880) from the foul line this season. He's 67-for-141 (.475) from the field overall. Emmou is a spectacular 17-for-31 (.548) from deep in conference play and is netting 7.7 ppg.
Valentine has enjoyed a steady initial season in Baltimore as the lead guard has averaged 25.5 minutes per game in 20 starts. Valentine is netting 6.1 ppg. on 44 percent shooting and has reached double-figures in scoring in seven different games. The Dec. 11 AE Rookie of the Week also grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game and leads the squad with 2.6 assists per game. Valentine scored a career best 17 points versus UMass Lowell on Feb. 8 and grabbed a personal-high 10 boards against Maine on Feb. 22. His top game as a distributor came versus Towson on December 9.
Seventh seeded UMBC will travel to No. 2 seeded UMass Lowell on Saturday for the 2024 Jersey Mike's America East Quarterfinals.
