Ben Reed named MAC Freshman of the Year
March 5, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan University men's basketball player Ben Reed is the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year. The announcement was made by the league office on Monday (March 4).
The Battle Creek, Mich., native is the first Bronco men's basketball player to earn the award since Booker James in 1984. Reed and James are the only WMU student-athletes to garner the recognition since the award's inception in 1979.
"We are extremely happy for Ben, who is very deserving of the honor," head coach Robert McCullum said. "It speaks volumes of his work ethic and desire to be the best he can be."
Reed concluded the regular season as the MAC's leading freshman scorer (14.2 points-per-game) and rebounder (6.3 per game), despite missing the final three contests after suffering a season-ending knee injury versus Ball State, Feb. 20. He reached double figures in 13 of the 15 MAC games in which he played, including a career-high 30 points in the Jan. 12 victory over rival Central Michigan. In all games, he ranks 22nd in scoring and 13th in rebounding among all conference players.
"Credit should also be given to his teammates and the number of other top candidates for the award, which gives the MAC a bright future," McCullum added. "This means a lot to our program."
Through March 3, Reed was ranked 12th nationally in scoring
among all freshmen and 18th in rebounding. He also ranks among
the league leaders in 3-point field goals made (2.00 per game),
offensive rebounding (2.46 per game) and defensive rebounding
(3.88 per game).
Reed was also named to the league's five-member all-freshman team, as voted by the 13 head coaches .
For more information, visit the Broncos on the Web at <www.wmubroncos.com>.
Media contact: Scott Kuykendall, 269 387-4125, scott.kuykendall@wmich.edu