Brown named MAC Freshman of the Year

March 7, 2012 | News, UToday
By Steve Easton



Brown

UT guard Julius Brown has been named the Mid-American Conference’s Freshman of the Year, the league office announced yesterday.

The Freshman of the Year award was voted on by a 24-member MAC News Media Association panel.

Brown received 16 votes, followed by Brian Sullivan of Miami with five votes, Austin McBroom of Central Michigan with two votes, and Abdel Nader of Northern Illinois with one vote.

Brown has started all of the Rockets’ 32 games at point guard and leads all MAC freshmen with 11.8 points, 4.9 assists and a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio. In the overall rankings, Brown ranks fourth in assists, seventh in assist/turnover ratio and 15th in scoring. He also is sixth nationally among freshman in assists.

“I’m very happy for Julius and his family that he is receiving this award,” Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “I thought he was clearly the best freshman in the MAC this season, and he’s extremely deserving of this honor. He possesses tremendous talent, is a hard worker and is extremely coachable. The fact that he is going to be a Rocket for three more years bodes well for our future.”

The recipient of two MAC West Division Player of the Week honors in February, Brown scored in double figures in 20 contests this season, including all nine games in February when he averaged 14.4 points per game during the Rockets’ stretch run. For his efforts, he was named MAC Freshman of the Month.

His top performance of the season came when he tied his season high with 29 points against Central Michigan (Feb. 22). That contest saw him tie a school record for a MAC game with a 90.9 field-goal percentage (10 of 11) and also knock down a season-best eight free throws. Brown dished out a season-high nine assists vs. Buffalo (Feb. 4) and collected seven or more assists in 13 contests this season.

The Markham, Ill., native is the sixth Rocket to earn this honor and the first since Justin Ingram captured the award in 2004. Toledo is the only MAC program to receive the honor on six occasions in the award’s 34-year history. Ball State and Ohio players have each received the award on five occasions.

Brown and the Rockets will face Central Michigan in the second round of the 2012 MAC Tournament Wednesday, March 7, at 9:30 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

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