IRVING, Texas – Marshall senior forward James Kelly earned the program’s first Conference USA Men’s Basketball Newcomer of the Year award when the individual C-USA men’s basketball awards were announced Tuesday, March 8.
The honor is the first of his one-year career after two seasons at Owens Community College, the playing one season at Miami-Fla. in 2013-14 and sitting out the 2014-15 season in Coach Danny D’Antoni’s first season with the Herd. On Monday, Kelly became the first Thundering Herd player in history named to the All-C-USA first team.
He is the fourth Thundering Herd player in program history to receive the fifth individual C-USA specialty award as the Herd’s Dago Pena and Tulsa’s Steven Idlet tied in 2010 for the Sixth Man of the Year – and also in 2010, Hassan Whiteside won both the Freshman of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year – while in 2011 DeAndre Kane was the league’s Freshman of the Year.