Mens basketball hands out annual awards

Senior Ryan Reid, a member of two NCAA Tournament teams and the winningest player in school history, was honored along with senior guard A.J. Yawn by head coach Leonard Hamilton and his staff at the annual Seminole basketball banquet at the Tom and Ginny Futch Ballroom at the University Center on the Florida State campus. Reid, who played in 88 Seminole wins during his four year career, was honored with the Tip of the Spear and Mr. Hustle Awards while Yawn earned the award as the team's unsung hero.

Florida State finished the 2009-10 season with a 22-10 overall record, a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and a third place finish in the ACC standings with a 10-6 record. It marked the second consecutive season the Seminoles have won 10 games in ACC play making them the second winningest program in league play the last two season. It marked the second time in school history and first time since the 1992 and 1993 seasons that the Seminoles had won at least 10 ACC games in consecutive seasons. With its 22 victories this season the Seminoles won 47 games in the last two years to tie the school record for wins in a two-year period. The Seminoles also won the championship of the Old Spice Classic and defeated two ranked teams during the season.

"Ryan Reid had an outstanding career as a Florida State basketball player," said Hamilton. "He did absolutely everything that was asked of him and even more that only our staff and players were able to enjoy during a very quick four year period. Ryan's maturity as a player and more importantly as a person was a pleasure to be a part of. To be able to see him receive his degree from Florida State University of May 1 will be one of the most memorable accomplishments of any player that I have ever coached."

Reid played in 127 career games - the fifth highest total in school history - and was a member of 88 overall wins and 37 ACC wins - both the most by any player in Seminole basketball history. He is one of only four players in school history to play on four postseason tournament teams (two NCAA and two NIT).

Yawn, a walk-on member of the team for only one season, was named the Seminoles' unsung player for his commitment to his teammates both on and off the court. Upon his graduation from Florida State in just over two weeks, he will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army and is scheduled to report for active duty in October. From there, he can be deployed at any time.

Sophomores Deividas Dulkys and Xavier Gibson earned three awards each. Dulkys and Gibson shared the Sixth Man and Most Improved Player Awards with Dulkys taking home the award as the Seminoles' top 3-point field goal shooter and Gibson earning the award the teams' best overall field goal shooter.

Solomon Alabi, the Seminoles' two-year starting center, earned the Bob Sura Outstanding Offensive Player Award and the award for the best free throw shooter. He averaged a team-high 11.7 points per game and shot a team-leading .794 from the free throw line. Alabi led the team in scoring nine times and led the team in 20 point scoring games. He was an All-ACC Third Team selection and named to the ACC All-Defensive team for the second consecutive season.

Chris Singleton, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, earned the Dave Cowens Chairman of the Boards and Charlie Ward Outstanding Defensive Player Award and he led the Seminoles with a 2.2 steals per game average and a 7.2 rebounds per game average while ranking second with a 1.5 steals per game average. Singleton became only the fifth player in ACC history to finish in the top five in both steals and blocked shots in the same season.

Freshman Pierre Jordan (Most Improved Student Athlete and Mr. Hustle Awards) and junior Derwin Kitchen (Otto Petty Most Assists Award) were honored along with sophomore Luke Loucks (Outstanding Academic Student Athlete) and freshmen Terrance Shannon (Mr. Hustle) and Michael Snaer (First Year Academic Achievement).

2009-10 Men's Basketball Awards

First Year Academic Achievement - Michael Snaer

Most Improved Academic Student Athlete - Pierre Jordan

Outstanding Academic Student Athlete - Luke Loucks

Best Field Goal Percentage - Xavier Gibson

Sixth Man Award - Xavier Gibson and Deividas Dulkys

Mr. Hustle - Pierre Jordan, Ryan Reid, and Terrance Shannon

Best 3-Point Field Goal Pct - Deividas Dulkys

Best Free Throw Percentage - Solomon Alabi

Otto Petty Most Assists Award - Derwin Kitchen

Dave Cowens Chairman of the Boards Award - Chris Singleton

Charlie Ward Outstanding Defensive Player Award - Chris Singleton

Bob Sura Outstanding Offensive Player Award - Solomon Alabi

Most Improved Player - Xavier Gibson and Deividas Dulkys

Unsung Hero Award - A.J. Yawn

Tip of the Spear Award - Ryan Reid