By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The dynamic University of Tennessee at Martin tandem of KJ Simon and Parker Stewart were two of five players listed on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 18 first team, the organization announced this morning.
Overall, the NABC spotlighted the best 241 players from 24 districts. This announcement marks the second career All-NABC honor for both Simon and Stewart as they join Lester Hudson (2007-08, 2008-09) as the only players in Skyhawk history to win that award twice in a career. The historic 2022-23 UT Martin season is now just the third in school history to produce multiple All-NABC honorees (alongside the 2019-20 and 2014-15 campaigns). The Skyhawks are one of only a dozen teams to boast two NABC All-District first team selections, joining the likes of Akron, Arizona, Dayton, Fairleigh Dickinson, Furman, Houston, Iona, Kansas State, Marshall, Memphis and Toledo.
A 6-3, 195-pound guard, Simon is currently the only player in NCAA Division I men’s basketball to average at least 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks while committing fewer than two turnovers per contest. He ranked fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference in blocked shots (1.1 per game), eighth in steals (1.4 per outing) and 10th in scoring (14.8 points per contest) while adding 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists over the course of 29 games.
Simon, who achieved NABC All-District 18 second team honors last season, tied for the most double-doubles (three) on the UT Martin squad – hauling in all three during an eight-game span against OVC opposition. He posted 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting (including 4-of-4 from three-point land) with career-highs of 12 rebounds and five blocks to go along with three assists and a steal against Southern Indiana on Jan. 28. Additionally, he piled up 22 points (on 8-for-12 shooting), 10 rebounds, a career-best six assists and a pair of blocks on Feb. 18 at Tennessee Tech.
The Orlando, Fla. native went off for at least 20 points on six different occasions in 2022-23, including a season-high 24-point performance (with a career-best five trifectas) at Little Rock on Dec. 29. Simon registered a career-best five blocks in a double-double against Lindenwood on Jan. 26, which was one of seven multi-block efforts. He also swiped at least two steals in 13 different games, including a career-high five steals in the road victory at eventual OVC Tournament champion Southeast Missouri on Jan. 19.
Simon earned a spot on the All-OVC second team and reached the 1,000 career point milestone on Jan. 7 against Tennessee Tech.
Stewart ended his 2022-23 campaign ranking second in the OVC with 2.9 three-point field goals made per game and third with a 16.1 points-per-game scoring average. He was the only player in NCAA Division I men’s basketball to average at least 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game while making at least 85 three-pointers on a 37-plus percent shooting clip from three-point range.
The 6-5, 205-pound graduate guard led the Skyhawks in scoring on 11 separate occasions, accumulating seven games of at least 20 points and a pair of 30-point outbursts. Stewart was responsible for a career-high 34 points thanks to 11-for-15 shooting (including seven triples) on Nov. 28 against McNeese before dropping 32 points (on 11-of-17 shooting, including a remarkable 8-of-9 performance from three-point range) on Feb. 18 at Tennessee Tech.
Stewart connected on at least seven 3-pointers four times, including another eight trey effort against Crowley’s Ridge on Dec. 19 which fell just one 3-pointer shy of tying UT Martin’s NCAA Division I single-game record. He also made his presence felt on the defensive end as he dialed up six consecutive multi-steal games to start the season, including a career-best six steals against Harris-Stowe on Nov. 15.
A 2019-20 NABC All-District 18 second team mention, the Union City, Tenn. native pumped in his 1,000th career collegiate point at Youngstown State on Nov. 9. Stewart also nabbed a pair of OVC Player of the Week awards (Dec. 5, Feb. 20) on his way to All-OVC first team accolades.
The NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. The organization currently has nearly 5,000 members who are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today’s student-athletes.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information