ORLANDO – The American Athletic Conference announced its postseason awards on Wednesday and a pair of Knights received honors as junior guard Darin Green Jr. earned third-team All-Conference accolades, while first-year guard Darius Johnson was named to the conference's All-Freshman Team.
It marks the fourth time in UCF's nine-year history in The American that the Knights have received multiple conference postseason awards.
One of the greatest 3-point shooters in UCF history, Green has led the charge for the Knights this season, checking in with a team-leading 13.6 points per game. Most of his scoring has come on a team-high 83 threes, knocking down an efficient 39.7 percent of his shots (ranks second in the conference).
Green leads the conference and is 22nd in the nation with 3.07 threes per game, and he was twice named to the conference honor roll this season. The deep-ball specialist posted seven games with at least five made threes in the regular season. The third-team nod marks the first all-conference honor for Green in his career.
Johnson is the only rookie, and just one of four Knights, to have appeared in all 28 regular-season games for UCF this season. The Boyds, Maryland native has started in 11 games for UCF, including the last nine, averaging 8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game during that stretch.
A two-time AAC Freshman of the Week, Johnson is second on the team with 78 assists, third with 25 steals and fourth with 21 made threes on the season. He's just the seventh Knight to earn conference all-freshman honors in the program's Division I history, joining Isaiah Adams, B.J. Taylor, Adonys Henriquez, Keith Clanton, Marcus Jordan, and A.J. Rompza.
Green, Johnson and the sixth seeded Knights will take on 11th seeded South Florida for the third time this season on Thursday, March 10 in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. UCF and South Florida are scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT with coverage on ESPNU and FM 96.9 The Game.
The full list of The American's 2021-22 postseason awards can be found below.
2021-22 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Honors
Player of the Year
Kendric Davis, Sr., G, SMU
Coach of the Year
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Defensive Player of the Year
Dexter Dennis, Jr., G, Wichita State
Freshman of the Year
Jalen Duren, C, Memphis*
Sixth Man of the Year
Ricky Council IV, Fr., G, Wichita State
Most Improved Player of the Year
Kevin Cross, So., F, Tulane
Sportsmanship Award
Darien Jackson, Sr., G, Tulsa
All-Conference First Team
Josh Carlton, Gr., F, Houston
Fabian White Jr, Gr., F, Houston
Jalen Duren, Fr., C, Memphis
Kendric Davis, Sr., G, SMU*
Jalen Cook, Fr., G, Tulane
All-Conference Second Team
Tristen Newton, So., G, East Carolina
Kyler Edwards, Sr., G, Houston
DeAndre Williams, Sr., F, Memphis
Marcus Weathers, Sr., F, SMU
Damian Dunn, So., G, Temple
Jaylen Forbes, So., G, Tulane
All-Conference Third Team
Darin Green Jr, Jr., G, UCF
David DeJulius, Sr., G, Cincinnati
Jamal Shead, So., G, Houston
Kevin Cross, So., F, Tulane
Tyson Etienne, So., G, Wichita State
All-Freshman Team
Darius Johnson, G, UCF
Jalen Duren, C, Memphis *
Josh Minott, F, Memphis
Zach Hicks, G, Temple
Jahlil White, G, Temple
* denotes unanimous selection
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