Oct. 4, 2011
• 2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Schedule | Ticket Information
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Three members of the Navy men's basketball team were honored by various preseason basketball magazines available on newsstands now. Lindy's Magazine, Athlon Magazine and The Sporting News all listed the trio as Patriot League honors candidates.
Jordan Sugars, a 6-3, 219-pound senior guard from Winchester, Va., was named preseason first-team all-Patriot League by all three magazines. Sugars is already one of the most-accomplished guards in school history, becoming just the eighth player to score 1,000 points (currently with 1,015) by the end of his junior season and ranking fifth on the career three-pointers made list with 155. Sugars needs just 11 rebounds to become the ninth player in school history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds and 485 points and 111 rebounds to become the fourth player (David Robinson, Vernon Butler and Kevin Sinnett) with 1,500 points and 600 rebounds. Sugars is the second returning leading scorer in the league after averaging 16.0 points per game last year and his 1,015 points make him 74th on the Patriot League list, good for third among active league players. Sugars has scored in double-digits in 25 of his last 26 games, including seven straight games entering the 2011-12 season.
J.J. Avila, a 6-7, 246-pound sophomore forward from McAllen, Texas, was named to the preseason second-team all-Patriot League team by Lindy's Magazine, which said this about Avila, "Navy's first Patriot League Rookie of the Year can't sneak up on anyone anymore, but has the talent to be better this year." Avila was the 2011 Patriot League Rookie of the Year after leading the league's freshmen in about every statistical category. He was one of just four freshmen nationally to average 10.0 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game and 2.0 assists per game a year ago and ranks high on the Navy all-time freshman lists in points (3rd), scoring average (5th), field goals made (3rd), field goal attempts (1st), three-pointers made (2nd), three-point attempts (1st), free throw percentage (4th), steals (2nd), minutes played (3rd), double-figure scoring games (3rd) and 20-point games (2nd). For the season, he averaged 11.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 2.4 apg.
Donya Jackson, a 6-3, 212-pound freshman guard from Baltimore, Md., was named the league's top newcomer by The Sporting News. Jackson spent the last season at Mercersburg Academy after graduating from Calvert Hall College in 2010, and teamed with fellow Navy recruit Chall Montgomery to form an explosive duo at Mercersburg. A defensive specialist, Jackson was twice named the Baltimore Catholic League's Defensive Player of the Year in both 2009 and 2010 and was selected as the 2010 Baltimore Catholic League Tournament MVP, leading Calvert Hall to its first league title since 1997. In the 2010 semifinals, Jackson scored 29 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter and overtime, to help the Cardinals top St. Frances, 67-62. The next night, Jackson then scored 13 points in a 46-44 victory over No. 1-ranked Mount St. Joseph to give Calvert Hall the league title. He also earned Baltimore Sun second-team All-Metro honors in 2010, and stayed committed to Navy after receiving interest from American, Morgan State, Old Dominion, Loyola (Md.), St. Francis (Pa.) and Tulane during his year at Mercersburg. During his year at Mercersburg, Jackson developed into a potent scorer, averaging 22.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 6.0 apg and 2.1 spg last year.
Navy will open the season on Friday, November 11, when it heads to Farmville, Va., to take on Longwood at 7:00 pm. The home opener comes two days later against Penn State-Altoona at 4:00 pm on Sunday, November 13, in Alumni Hall. Season tickets are available for as little as $80 by visiting www.NavySports.com or by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY. Single-game tickets are now also available for $10 for adults, $5 for youth (18 & under) and $3 for groups of 20 or more.
# GO NAVY #
