April 25, 2013
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CORALVILLE, Iowa — Senior guard Eric May has been named the recipient of the Chris Street Award for the 2012-13 Iowa men’s basketball season. May received the award Thursday night at the team’s banquet at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
The Chris Street Award is presented annually to a Hawkeye player, or players, who best exemplify the spirit, enthusiasm and intensity of Chris Street. Street was an Iowa basketball player who died in an auto accident in 1993, midway through his junior year.
May (6-5, 219) was Iowa’s lone scholarship senior, playing in all 38 games. May played in 133 career games, one shy of the school record of 134 held by Roy Marble (1986-89). He posted his best offensive rebounding average (1.1), assists (1.8), and free throw percentage (.737) of his career his senior campaign.
The Dubuque, Iowa, native was a leader on-and-off the court, serving as a two-time team co-captain, earning Academic All-Big Ten recognition three times and being named the Iowa men’s basketball Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
May was also co-winner of the team’s Defensive Player of the Year Award. The senior was routinely assigned to defend one of the opposition’s top perimeter players and led the team in steals nine times, and rebounding and assists five times.
Other Hawkeyes recognized at the banquet included Mike Gesell, Roy Devyn Marble, Gabriel Olaseni, Aaron White and Adam Woodbury.
Marble (6-6, 194), who earned third team All-Big Ten, NIT All-Tournament and Cancun Challenge All-Tournament laurels, was named the team’s Top Playmaker. The team co-captain became the first Hawkeye to amass 1,100+ points, 350+ rebounds and 275+ assists as a junior. Marble was the team’s leading scorer (15.0) and also paced the team in assists (3.0), free throw percentage (.810), and 3-pointers (49-of-150). The native of Southfield, Mich., averaged 20.6 points, 2.4 steals and four rebounds in five NIT games, and became the first Hawkeye since Adam Haluska in 2007 to score 21+ points in four consecutive games (Indiana State, Stony Brook, Virginia and Maryland). Marble was one of only three Big Ten players (Michigan’s Trey Burke and D.J. Newbill of Penn State) to average 15 points and three assists this year.
White (6-8, 218), who was recognized on the All-Big Ten third team and Cancun Challenge All-Tournament squad, was named the team’s Best Rebounder for the second consecutive year. The Strongsville, Ohio, native ranked first in team rebounding (6.2), becoming the first Hawkeye to lead the team in rebounding as a freshman and sophomore since Michael Payne in 1981-82. White started 38 games, sharing the school record for most starts in a season with Woodbury. He ranked second on the team in scoring (12.8) and steals (41). White made (193) and attempted (258) the most free throws of any sophomore in school history, with 39.5 percent of his scoring production coming from the foul line, which ranked fifth-best in the country. White finished his sophomore campaign with 877 career points, 123 shy of 1,000.
Olaseni (6-10, 229) received the team’s Most Improved Award. The native of London, England, posted personal best numbers in every statistical category as a sophomore, seeing action in 19 more games than the previous year. He rejected 36 blocks this season, the second most on the team and 12th-most in the Big Ten. The 36 blocks are the third-most ever by a Hawkeye sophomore. Olaseni’s career-high seven blocked shots in Iowa’s win over Illinois not only equaled the seventh-most in a game in school history, but helped Iowa set a school single-game record in blocks (13).
Gesell (6-1, 185) earned the team’s Academic Award and was named co-Freshman of the Year. Gesell became the first Hawkeye freshman to amass 295+ points, 85+ assists and 85+ rebounds. Despite being slowed by a foot injury the final six weeks of the season, Gesell was Iowa’s third leading scorer (8.7), finishing in double figures 14 times. The South Sioux City, Neb., native collected 40 steals and shot 31.7 percent from 3-point range, which rank as the sixth and ninth-best by a Hawkeye freshman, respectively.
Along with earning co-Freshman of the Year honors, Woodbury was awarded co-Defensive Player of the Year accolades. Woodbury (7-1, 235) started all 38 games at center, establishing a school record for most starts in a season with White. The native of Sioux City, Iowa, ranked third in team rebounding (4.8) and blocked shots (29). The 29 blocks rank seventh-best by a Hawkeye rookie, while his 181 rebounds are the sixth-most by an Iowa freshman. Woodbury led the team in blocks 10 times and rebounding six times.
2013 IOWA MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM AWARDS
CHRIS STREET AWARD: Eric May
TOP PLAYMAKER: Roy Devyn Marble
CO-FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Mike Gesell, Adam Woodbury
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER AWARD: Eric May, Adam Woodbury
MOST IMPROVED: Gabriel Olaseni
BEST REBOUNDER: Aaron White
ACADEMIC AWARD: Mike Gesell