RHODES' GONDA; OGLETHORPE'S CHURCHWELL; SEWANEE'S HARRIGAN HIGHLIGHT SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE’S 15TH ANNIVERSARY MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

SUWANEE, Ga. – Rhodes College guard Mike Gonda, Oglethorpe University forward Russ Churchwell and Sewanee-University of the South center Ryan Harrigan highlight an impressive list of past standouts named to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s 15th Anniversary men’s basketball team.

Gonda is one of just four players in SCAC history to earn First Team All-SCAC honors three times. He was the league's first Player-of-the-Year in 1991-92 as a sophomore and in three years in the SCAC, scored 1,258 points. Gonda averaged 17.00 points per game over that span - the eighth-highest career scoring average in league history. He also ranks sixth all-time in total assists (385) and his 5.20 assists per game career average is the best in SCAC history.

Oglethorpe's Churchwell is the league's all-time leading scorer (1,894) and rebounder (849), a three-time All-SCAC performer and two-time All-America selection. The 2000-01 First-Year Player-of-the-Year, Churchwell is the only player in league history to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding two different seasons (2001-02 and 2003-04). All told, he led the league in scoring three of his four years and was the SCAC's leading rebounder for two seasons.

Harrigan, the league's only two-time Player-of-the-Year (1996-97, 1997-98), was the SCAC's all-time leading scorer when he graduated in 1998 (he is now second). He led Sewanee to the 1996-97 SCAC title and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances his junior and senior seasons. Harrigan, a consensus First Team All-American in 1998, is also sixth on the league's all-time rebounding list (646).

Joining Gonda on the team as guards are Aaron Bowser of Southwestern University, David DeMarcus of Centre College, Quintin Mason of Trinity University and Dan Waguespack of Millsaps College.

Southwestern's Bowser is the only active player to earn a spot on the all-anniversary team. The 2004-05 SCAC Player-of-the-Year, Bowser became the program's first All-America selection last season. He surpassed the 1,000-points scored plateau earlier this season and his career point total stands at 1,267 (29th all-time) as of this release.

DeMarcus earned SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors in 1992-93 when his Centre team tied for the league title. In just three years in the SCAC, DeMarcus scored 1,236 points (32nd all-time) and his 17.17 points per game in that three-year span ranks seventh in SCAC history. He earned All-SCAC honors all three seasons and his teams won conference championships twice.

Mason, the 1999-2000 SCAC Player-of-the-Year, ended his career at Trinity with 1,442 points - which at the time he graduated was the fifth most points scored in league history. He now stands 12th all-time. Mason is one of just four players in SCAC history to earn First Team All-SCAC honors three times. He was a member of two SCAC championship teams, including the 1997-98 team that earned the program its first NCAA tournament berth and postseason win.

Waguespack is the only player in SCAC history to earn First or Second Team honors all four years in the league. The 2001-02 SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year finished his career at Millsaps as the league's all-time steals leader with 264. Waguespack also ranks fourth in points (1,626) and ninth in rebounds (609) on the SCAC's all-time lists. He was a member of the Majors' 2000-01 SCAC title-winning team that earned the program its third NCAA tournament appearance.

In addition to Churchwell, other forwards selected to the all-anniversary team include: Joe Nixon of DePauw University, Neal Power of Rhodes, Jason Rhodes of Hendrix College and Phillip Robinson of Millsaps.

When DePauw's Nixon finished his career, he had accumulated the fourth-highest point total in league history (1,546 - now good for fifth). He finished third in the league's Player-of-the-Year voting as a sophomore and second as both a junior and senior. Nixon capped his career when his Tiger team won the 2001-02 SCAC title and advanced all the way to the sectional finals (the deepest a SCAC men's team had ever advanced in the NCAA Tournament) before losing to eventual national champion Otterbein.

Power of Rhodes remains the only player in SCAC history to earn the league's POTY honor (2000-01) while playing for a team with a losing record. He was also recognized as an All-American that season. Power, who led the league in scoring in consecutive seasons in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, finished his career as the SCAC's third all-time leading scorer (1,647 points) and seventh all-time leading rebounder (628).

Rhodes was named the 1995-96 SCAC Player-of-the-Year after leading his Hendrix team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1995 and 1996. He finished his career with 1,340 points and 599 rebounds (tied for 11th all-time in the SCAC) and earned All-America honors his senior season. After working several years as an assistant, Rhodes served as head coach at his alma mater for the 2003-04 season.

Millsaps' Robinson earned 1994-95 SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors his senior season as his Majors won the 1995 conference championship and became the first men's team in SCAC history to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. He finished his career with 1,370 points (17th all-time in SCAC) and his 18.03 points per game average is the third-best in league history.

Sean Devins of Trinity and Joe Ringger of DePauw join Harrigan as the centers named to the all-anniversary team.

Devins was the enforcer in the middle for Trinity's three consecutive SCAC championship teams. The three-time SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year is the league's all-time leading shot blocker (329 - seventh all-time in DIII history) and finished his career with 1,113 points and 599 rebounds. Devins was the MVP of the both the 2004 and 2005 SCAC Basketball Tournament. He is the only player on the all-anniversary squad to have participated in three NCAA tournaments (2003-2005), culminating with a trip to the sectional finals his senior season.

DePauw's Ringger, the 2002-03 SCAC Player-of-the-Year, is currently sixth on the league's all-time scoring list with 1,533 points and second in rebounds with 761 (he was the league's all-time leader when he graduated). Ringger was a junior on the DePauw team that advanced to the NCAA Sectional final. He ranks in the top five in school history for points, rebounds and blocks.

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will be announcing 15th Anniversary teams in all 18 sports during the 2005-06 academic year. The SCAC was formed in 1991 after a reorganization of its predecessor, the College Athletic Conference (CAC). The CAC dates to 1962 with four charter members: Centre College, Southwestern @ Memphis (now Rhodes College), Sewanee-The University of the South, and Washington & Lee (Va.) University. Washington (Mo.) University joined the CAC later that same year.

The SCAC was formed to provide an association through which the member institutions may encourage organized competition in intercollegiate sports among teams representative of their respective student bodies. Members of this conference share a commitment to priority of the overall quality of academic standards and quality educational experiences.

The SCAC’s 15th Anniversary teams were selected in each sport through balloting by present coaches and administrators. Athletes who participated in conference competition between the fall of 1991 through the spring of 2005 and had been named to at least two All-SCAC teams were eligible for selection.

x First Team All-SCAC
+ Second Team All-SCAC
# Player-of-the-Year
% Defensive Player-of-the-Year
& Newcomer-of-the-Year
(the SCAC began naming a Newcomer-of-the-Year in 1999-2000 and a Defensive Player-of-the-Year in 2001-02)

Back to the 15th Anniversary Homepage