RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Terry Coner Jr., was named the Great American Conference Player of the Year while
Jason Eaker earned Coach of the Year as the league announced its All-GAC Team on Wednesday night.
For Coner Jr., he's the first Bison player to achieve the honor while Eaker earned his second coaching award with the last being in the 2021 season.
On top of those individual honors, Coner Jr., and
Jackson Greene earned All-GAC First Team accolades while
Joshua Udoumoh and
Erik Madrid were named to the Honorable Mention squad.
As a team, the four All-GAC selections are the most in program history.
A native of Birmingham, Ala., Coner Jr., is the first player in OBU's D2 era to attain a pair of All-GAC First Team honors. During the regular season, he was voted five times as the GAC Player of the Week. The 6-foot guard averaged 20.2 points per game, scored at least 10 points in 26 of 27 games played and posted a career-high 36 against Arkansas Tech on Jan. 8. He also ranked highly (5th) in the GAC in assists (3.5) and steals (1.7).
For Greene, he had an incredible season for the green and gold. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and shot 46.9 percent from the field and about 73 percent from the free throw line. The Atlanta, Ga., native reached double-figures 18 times including scoring 26 versus Ouachita on Feb. 21. Greene also secured at least six boards in 11 contests and dished out multiple assists in 11 games.
As for Udoumoh and Madrid, they earned All-GAC honors for the first time in their careers.
Udoumoh, a 6-foot-4 guard from Tulsa, was a weapon all over the court for OBU. He averaged a career-high 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds and shot 47 percent from the field. That latter stat was a top-17 GAC mark. He also made 35.3 percent from downtown and collected 32 steals. Udoumoh scored at least 10 points 18 times included 24 twice versus Newman (11/29) and Southern Arkansas (1/30).
At center was Madrid, the 7-foot-2 sophomore who made a remarkable jump in year two on Bison Hill. He shot 71 percent from the field, tops in the GAC, and pulled down 6.1 boards per game. That was slotted sixth in the league. Madrid posted a pair of double-doubles and recorded a career-high 19 points against Arkansas-Monticello on Jan. 31. He notched multiple blocks in 13 games too.
