Graves Named Preseason Big 4 Player Of The Year; Mballa And Williams Also Honored
11/23/2020 11:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – University at Buffalo senior guard earned the highest local honor on Monday morning as he was announced as the preseason Big 4 Player of the Year and was also named to All-Big 4 First Team. Both juniors Josh Mballa and Jeenathan Williams were named to the All-Big 4 second team.
Graves, who last week was named preseason first-team All-MAC, led the Bulls in scoring at 17.1 points per game as he broke the school record for field goals attempted in a season, while his 204 field goals made are third most in a single seasons. Graves also notched a career best of 5.4 rebounds per game.
Graves became the 23rd player in school history to record 1,000 career points and he currently sits in 18th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,080 points. He scored in double figures in all but three games this season, highlighted by a career best 33 points in Buffalo's double overtime win at Kent State.
Mballa was honored last week as preseason second-team All-MAC selection. He was one of the biggest surprises for the team, transferring in last year after playing his freshman season at Texas Tech. Mballa, who was named to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team, played in all 32 games, starting 20 of them. He averaged 10.8 points per game, and a team-best 9.6 rebounds per contest.
The 308 rebounds from Mballa were the most by a UB player in the Modern Era and the most since the 1977-78 season. He had a career high of 17 rebounds against Akron and finished the year in the top 10 nationally in offensive rebounding.
For Williams this is his first preseason honor. The Rochester, NY native had a breakout season last year. He averaged 11.6 points per game last season, starting 31 of the 32 contents. Williams set career highs in every offensive category, notching a career-best 26 points against Ohio. He had one stretch during his sophomore campaign where he had nine straight games scoring in double figures.
The Bulls are scheduled to open the season on Wednesday afternoon against Gannon.
Graves, who last week was named preseason first-team All-MAC, led the Bulls in scoring at 17.1 points per game as he broke the school record for field goals attempted in a season, while his 204 field goals made are third most in a single seasons. Graves also notched a career best of 5.4 rebounds per game.
Graves became the 23rd player in school history to record 1,000 career points and he currently sits in 18th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,080 points. He scored in double figures in all but three games this season, highlighted by a career best 33 points in Buffalo's double overtime win at Kent State.
Mballa was honored last week as preseason second-team All-MAC selection. He was one of the biggest surprises for the team, transferring in last year after playing his freshman season at Texas Tech. Mballa, who was named to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team, played in all 32 games, starting 20 of them. He averaged 10.8 points per game, and a team-best 9.6 rebounds per contest.
The 308 rebounds from Mballa were the most by a UB player in the Modern Era and the most since the 1977-78 season. He had a career high of 17 rebounds against Akron and finished the year in the top 10 nationally in offensive rebounding.
For Williams this is his first preseason honor. The Rochester, NY native had a breakout season last year. He averaged 11.6 points per game last season, starting 31 of the 32 contents. Williams set career highs in every offensive category, notching a career-best 26 points against Ohio. He had one stretch during his sophomore campaign where he had nine straight games scoring in double figures.
The Bulls are scheduled to open the season on Wednesday afternoon against Gannon.
Players Mentioned
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