All-RSC Men's Basketball Teams & Awards picked: Trenton Thompson Player of the Year
NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- The 2017-18 All-River States Conference Men's Basketball Teams & Awards have been picked and are released at RiverStatesConference.com. Asbury University junior forward Trenton Thompson leads the honorees as the RSC Player of the Year.
Thompson, a 6-6 native of Cynthiana, Ky., leads the conference in scoring at 26.4 points per game, which ranks second overall in NAIA Division II men's basketball. Thompson is also averaging 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He is shooting 53 percent from the field and has made 57 3-pointers.
Thompson leads the 20 all-conference players, who are divided into 10 players on the All-RSC First Team and 10 on the All-RSC Second Team. Also named was the RSC Men's Basketball Champions of Character Team, which selected one player from each school who best represents the NAIA Champions of Character core values of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship.
IU East head coach Mark Hester was selected the RSC Coach of the Year. Hester's squad is ranked No. 2 in the country and enters the postseason with a record of 28-2 overall, a perfect 17-0 in the RSC and 22 straight victories. IU East is the RSC regular-season champion and is already guaranteed an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II national tournament.
IU Kokomo senior guard Eddie Miles was named the RSC Newcomer of the Year. The 6-3 native of Chicago, Ill., averaged 13.9 points and 5.0 assists per game as a transfer to the Cougars this year. He earned a spot on the All-RSC First Team and was the top vote-getter who was a freshman or transfer.
Cincinnati Christian University junior Blake Walsman, a 6-8 forward, finished second in the player of the year race. He had a strong season of 21.4 ppg, 14.3 rpg and 61-percent field goals, the last two of which led the conference.
Lucas Huffman, a 6-7 senior guard for No. 2 IU East, was one of the leading selections on the first team, and he leads the deep Red Wolves roster with 14.3 ppg.
IU Southeast sophomore guard Jamie Johnson placed highly on the first team leading the No. 13-ranked Grenadiers to the RSC West Division title. He is averaging a team-high 19.4 ppg. IU Southeast was the only school with two players on the first team with the other being NAIA DII blocks leader Joe Jackson (13.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg), a senior forward.
Also on the first team were high-scoring guards Will Hill (21.9 ppg) of University of Rio Grande, Jalen Hearn (21.3 ppg) of Ohio Christian University and Tavon Johnson (18.1 ppg) of Brescia University as well as No. 25 WVU Tech's top inside player Michael Scott (14.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg).
The 10 players on the All-RSC Second Team represent seven schools, and IU East, WVU Tech and Alice Lloyd lead that team with two selections each. See below for the full listing of this year's awardees.
2017-18 ALL-RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS & AWARDS
RSC Player of the Year: Trenton Thompson, Sr., F, Asbury
RSC Coach of the Year: Mark Hester, IU East
RSC Newcomer of the Year: Eddie Miles, Sr., IU Kokomo
2017-18 ALL-RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL FIRST TEAM
| Name | School | Pos. | Cl. |
| Trenton Thompson | Asbury | F | Jr. |
| Blake Walsman | Cincinnati Christian | F | Jr. |
| Lucas Huffman | IU East | G | Sr. |
| Jamie Johnson | IU Southeast | G | So. |
| Will Hill | Rio Grande | G | Sr. |
| Jalen Hearn | Ohio Christian | G | Sr. |
| Michael Scott | WVU Tech | F | Sr. |
| Joe Jackson | IU Southeast | F | Sr. |
| Eddie Miles | IU Kokomo | G | Sr. |
| Tavon Johnson | Brescia | G | Sr. |
2017-18 ALL-RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL SECOND TEAM
| Name | School | Pos. | Cl. |
| Trent Elliott | IU Kokomo | G | Sr. |
| Blake Smith | Alice Lloyd | G | So. |
| Dillon Geralds | Brescia | G/F | Jr. |
| Aaron Thomas | IU East | F | Jr. |
| Charlie Scharbo | Carlow | F | Sr. |
| Thomas Collins | WVU Tech | G | Jr. |
| Jacoby Claypool | IU East | G | Sr. |
| Timmy Dalton | Alice Lloyd | G | Fr. |
| Brandon Shingles | WVU Tech | G | Jr. |
| Will Henderson | Asbury | G | Sr. |
RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER TEAM
| School | Name |
| Alice Lloyd | Austin Crisp |
| Asbury | Daulton Peters |
| Brescia | Jordan Cooper-Livers |
| Carlow | Cole Novotney |
| Cincinnati Christian | Cristian Colon |
| IU East | Charles Peterson |
| IU Kokomo | Jonathan Hurt |
| IU Southeast | Jacob Mills |
| Midway | Jose Bustamante |
| Ohio Christian | Cory Inman |
| Point Park | Fousseini Konate |
| Rio Grande | DeVon Price |
| WVU Tech | Michael Scott |