WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's basketball team had three players recognized by the University Athletic Association today on the conference's postseason All-Star team. Leading the way was sophomore guard Lawrence Sabir of Providence, R.I., who was named the UAA Defensive Player of the Year. Senior guard Corey Sherman of Penn Valley, Pa., was named the All-UAA Second Team and sophomore forward Chandler Jones of Springfield, Mass., earned All-UAA honorable mention.
Sabir is Brandeis's second UAA Defensive Player of the Year selection, joining Tim Reale '17. Sabir averages 7.1 points and a team-best 3.8 assists per game, but he is being honored for his work on the other end of the floor. Sabir had 19 steals and averaged 3.8 rebounds per game despite being the shortest of the Judges' regular players. He helped Brandeis lead in the UAA and 29th in all of Division III in scoring defense, allowing just 66.0 points per game. The Judges were also second in the league field-goal percentage defense (81st nationally) at 41.6 percent and in 3-point percentage defense (62nd nationally), holding opponents to 31.5 percent.
"Lawrence has been really unselfish this year," said first-year head coach Jean Bain. "He's sacrificed his offense to go out and give maximum effort on the defensive end of the floor. Game in and game out, he's been guarding the opponent's best guards, and I think the other coaches in the conference noticed. I'm really happy for Lawrence."
Sherman earns his first All-UAA accolade. A transfer to Brandeis as a junior, he joined the starting lineup as a senior and led the Judges in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game. He was 10th in the league in scoring. Sherman also led the Judges and was second in the conference in free-throw shooting, connecting on 83.6 percent from the line (61-73). Sherman was also the iron man of the UAA, leading the conference with 844 minutes played, the only player over 800 minutes. Sherman led Brandeis in scoring 10 times this season, posting the team's high-point total of the campaign with 26 points on Nov. 19 against Lasell College. He was a two-time UAA Player of the Week this season and earned MVP honors at the New England Big Four Challenge in December.
"Corey has been the heart of our team," Bain said. "His leadership has been unbelievable. He wasn't playing at 100 percent during some parts of the season, but still went out there and got the job done. Corey really leads by example."
Jones is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 12.0 points per game. He also leads the squad in rebounding at 6.4 boards per contest, is second in assists at 2.5 helpers per game. Jones was the team's leading rebounder 11 times, and top assist man seven times. He ranked 14th in the UAA in scoring and 10th in rebounding. His 31 minutes per game average were seventh in the league.
"Chandler is one of the most talented players in the league," said Bain. "His strength is his versatility. Chandler may be the best passer on the team. He's sacrificed some of his offensive ability to make the other players around him better. He's a great teammate and a great person."
In Bain's first season as head coach, the Brandeis men's basketball team currently has a 15-11 record. The Judges have doubled their win total from 2017-18, posting their best season since 2012-13. The squad returned to the postseason for the first time since 2011-12. They hosted an ECAC Division III tournament first-round game on Wednesday night and handled John Jay College, 75-49, to reach the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. against Marywood College on the campus of Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.
Click for the full 2019 All-UAA Men's Basketball team.
Sabir is a 2017 graduate of LaSalle Academy.
Sherman is a 2015 graduate of Lower Merion High School.
Jones is a 2015 graduate of Springfield Commonwealth Academy.
For more information on Brandeis men's basketball, visit our web page at http://www.brandeisjudges.com/sports/mbkb/index