West Texas A&M’s Tom Brown was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) South Central District Coach of the Year on Monday Afternoon. Sophomore’s Qua Grant and Joel Murray were also named First Team All-District as voted on by member coaches of the NABC.

Brown was voted as the top coach in the District after leading the Buffs to a 32-1 record including a program record 23 straight. wins and top seed in the NCAA DII South Central Region before all NCAA Championship were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sixth-year head coach also led the Buffs to their third straight Lone Star Conference Championship, the first school to achieve the feat since 1987, after going 21-1 during conference play in the regular season.

Under Brown, the Buffs have won a nation’s best 42 straight games at home including a 16-0 record this season. They also ranked second in NCAA DII men’s basketball in turnover margin, turnovers forced and 3-point defense in 2019-20.

Grant earns First Team All-District honors from the NABC for the second straight year leading the Buffs in scoring and rebounding. The Waxahachie native was also named the LSC and D2CCA South Central Player of the Year after averaging 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor, 33.5 percent from 3-point range and 71.6 percent from the free throw line. He scored in double figures 31 times including 18 game with 20-plus. He also recorded a team-high seven double-doubles including a 32-point, 11 rebound performance against Angelo State on Jan. 16.

Grant was also one of the top defenders in the nation ranking in the Top 10 in steals and steals per game. He finished his sophomore campaign with a program record 80 steals giving him 131 for his career.

Murray earns All-District honors for the first time in his career after scoring a career-high 19.9 points and 4.5 assists per game. The Rowlett native scored 656 points, the fourth-most in a single season in program history, with 148 assists and 141 rebounds. He scored in double figures 31 times including a pair of 32-point performances while dishing five or more assists in 15 games.

He was named the LSC Tournament’s MVP after leading the Buffs to their third straight title with 21 points in the Championship game where WT overcame a double-digit halftime lead to defeat No. St. Edward’s at the Comerica Center in Frisco. He also tied a career-high with 32 points to go along with nine assists in their quarterfinal win over Texas A&M-Commerce.

-West Texas A&M University