MD JUCO Announces All-Conference Teams

Posted: Feb 22, 2018

The following is an exerpt from www.mdjuco.org...

The Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference (Maryland JUCO) today announced its 2017-18 All-Maryland JUCO Men's and Women's Basketball teams and other award recipients. A total of 43 student athletes and coaches representing 14 member institutions earned honors.

Men's Basketball (CLICK HERE for full list of men's student athletes and coaches)

Harford Community College, Allegany College of Maryland and Frederick Community College lead the way with three student athletes, followed by Baltimore City Community College, Montgomery College and Prince George's Community College with two. The rest of the men's team is represented by Cecil College, College of Southern Maryland, Chesapeake College, Garrett College, Hagerstown Community College and Howard Community College who each have one.

Collin Turner (Montgomery) was selected Maryland JUCO Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year after garnering the highest point total, as voted on by conference head coaches. Turner is a two-time Maryland Juco Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Month and currently leads the conference with 29.3 points per game, which is also second best in NJCAA Division III. He has scored 792 points this season and surpassed 1,000 career points on February 18 in a Maryland Juco Conference Tournament quarterfinal round victory against Baltimore City.

The Maryland JUCO Conference Men's Coach of the Year is Mike Smelkinson (Harford). Smelkinson guided the Fighting Owls to a 13-1 conference record and regular season Maryland JUCO title for the second season in a row. Smelkinson also led Harford to its first Maryland Juco Conference Tournament championship since 2015. This award is given annually to the head coach of the regular season conference champion.

The Maryland JUCO Men's Basketball Coaches Association selected Emonte Hill (Frederick) as its 2017-18 coach of the year. Hill is in his fifth season at the helm for the Cougars. Last season, Frederick went 7-7 in Maryland Juco play and finished in a tie for eighth place in the conference. This year, Hill led them to a 12-2 conference record, good enough for a second place tie in the conference and No. 3 seed in this year's Maryland JUCO Conference Tournament. This award is voted on annually by the conference men's head basketball coaches.

Women's Basketball (CLICK HERE for full list of women's student athletes and coaches)

Baltimore City and Cecil lead the way four student athletes selected to one of the three teams. Chesapeake and Harford each have three and Frederick has two. Allegany, Anne Arundel Community College, Hagerstown and Montgomery have one each.

Ryan Holder (Harford) is the Maryland JUCO Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year. Holder averages 13.3 points per game, while averaging 25 minutes played. She has shot 52.4% from the floor, averages 7.8 rebounds per game and 2.7 assists per game. Her 2.8 blocks per game are ranked second in the conference. Holder has committed to attend and play basketball next season for Towson University.

The conference coach of the year goes to Mike Seney (Harford). Seney lead his team through the regular season and posted a 13-0 record in conference play, going undefeated for a third consecutive season. With Seney at the helm, the Fighting Owls have also won four straight conference tournament championships.

The Maryland JUCO Women's Basketball Coaches Association selected Tara Owens (Baltimore) as its 2017-18 coach of the year. Owens has been the Panthers' head coach for five seasons and this year led them to a 10-1 conference record. The Panthers were the No. 2 seed in the Maryland Juco Conference tournament, narrowly falling to Harford 46-45.