GARRITY NAMED TO THE MID-MAJOR FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
4/18/2012
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nearly two months after being named the Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Year, Sacramento State point guard Dylan Garrity can add one more accolade to his trophy case. Today, he was one of 25 players from across the nation selected to the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Freshmen All-America Team.
Rather than selecting a first, second, third team and honorable mention, the Mid-Major Freshmen All-America squad is just one team. Mid-Major schools are widely accepted as teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit League, Sun Belt and West Coast. A complete list of each player named to the team is listed below the story.
Garrity completed a season in which he was seventh in the nation with 6.9 assists per game to go along with a healthy 2.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (36th in the nation). He started 27 of a possible 28 games, averaged 8.1 points and 33.8 minutes per contest and was also an honorable mention all-Big Sky selection. A true freshman, Garrity became the third Hornet to earn Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors since the program joined the league in 1996-97.
The Huntington Beach, Calif., native easily led the Big Sky in assists, and was the only freshman in the nation to rank among the top 25 players in assists per game. Garrity assisted on over 29 percent of the Hornets’ made buckets, had at least 12 assists on five occasions and posted four double-doubles (points and assists). That included a 16-assist performance against Montana State that not only set a school record, but tied for the most by any Div. I player during the season. The four double-doubles tied for the seventh best mark in Sacramento State’s Div. I history (1991-pres.).
Garrity’s average of 6.9 assists per game matched a single-season school record, and his 193 total assists were the second best mark in school history and the most by a Big Sky player since the 2005-06 season. Among Big Sky leaders, he finished first in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio, fourth in free throw percentage (.818) and sixth in minutes per game.
After scoring in double figures just once during the team’s first 16 games, Garrity posted double digits eight times over the final 12 games while averaging 10.7 points over that span. That included a stretch of five straight games in which he scored in double figures (Jan. 26-Feb. 9). His season high of 18 points came against both Montana State and Portland State.
Against Big Sky competition, Garrity averaged 9.1 points and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 47.9 percent (45-94) from the field, 38.5 percent (15-39) from the three-point line and 82.0 percent (41-50) from the free throw line.
Garrity’s 27 starts tied a team high, he was one of six Hornets to play in all 28 games, and he led the team in assists in all but one game. His 26 steals were also a team high, and he shot a team-high 84.4 percent (38-45) from the free throw line during the final five minutes of games.
Sacramento State finished the season with a 10-18 overall record and a 5-11 conference mark. The Hornets raised their conference win total for the third straight year, and the team’s 10 overall wins were the most since the 2006-07 season. Including Garrity, the Hornets will return each of their top five scorers in 2012-13.
2012 MID-MAJOR FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Lawrence Alexander - North Dakota State
Julius Brown - Toledo
Justin Burrell - Holy Cross
Johnny Dee - San Diego
Ben Dickinson - Binghamton
Quincy Ford - Northeastern
Trey Freeman - Campbell
Dylan Garrity - Sacramento State
Derrick Gordon - Western Kentucky
Juan’ya Green - Niagara
Ty Greene - USC Upstate
Stephan Hicks - Cal State Northridge
Evan Hymes - Siena
Lucky Jones - Robert Morris
Roosevelt Jones - Butler
Chavaughn Lewis - Marist
Four McGlynn - Vermont
Shonn Miller - Cornell
Saah Nimley - Charleston Southern
Tahj Tate - Delaware State
Bernard Thompson - Florida Gulf Coast
Jarvis Threatt - Delaware
Seth Tuttle - Northern Iowa
Kyle Vinales - Central Connecticut State
Brad Waldow - Saint Mary’s
