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Becoming the fourth NCAA Division I freshman in the last 30 years to average at least 12 points and 12 rebounds, Arkansas State men’s basketball forward Norchad Omier was named Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Sun Belt, while senior guard Marquis Eaton was named Second Team All-Sun Belt, the league office announced Thursday.
Omier finished the season averaging 12.6 points and 12.3 rebounds joining Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Paul Millsap (Louisiana Tech) and Adonal Foyle (Colgate) as the only freshmen since the 1992-93 season to average at least 12 points and 12 rebounds. In that span, just 63 players, regardless of classification, have finished a season with those statistics. He is the fourth Sun Belt Conference player to average at least 12 points and 12 rebounds since 1992-93, the first since Shawn Long (Louisiana) back in the 2015-16 season.
The first Division I player from Nicaragua, Omier ranked second nationally with 15 double-doubles, the most among any freshman. Eleven of his 15 double-doubles came against league foes, including back-to-back 18-rebound efforts in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. He logged 19 games with 10 or more rebounds, second-most nationally and most among players from the league.
Among the nation’s best, Omier ranked third in total rebounds per game (12.3), fourth in total rebounds (282), fifth in offensive rebounds per game (4.00) and seventh in defensive rebounds per game (8.26).
Omier becomes the second A-State player to earn Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year honors joining Brandon Reed (2009-10). He is the first freshman from any league school to be named First Team All-Sun Belt since Tookie Brown (Georgia Southern) in 2015-16 and just the third since the league began multiple All-Sun Belt squads in the 2002-03 season (Tony Mitchell, North Texas 2011-12).
He is the first A-State player to earn First Team All-Sun Belt honors since Adrian Banks (2006-07) and it marks the 15th time the Red Wolves have a first team selection.
Eaton finished the year ranked fifth in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game and led the league with 91 assists against just 39 turnovers while playing 32.5 minutes per game. He was the only player in the league with 80-plus assists and he led with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. He finished as one of only five players nationally in any conference to log 90 or more assists and 40 or fewer assists in conference only games. He shot 42.5 percent (71-167) from the field and 33.3 percent (20-60) beyond the arc. He ranked second in the league in free throw percentage knocking down 89.8 percent (79-88) at the stripe. For the season, Eaton had a league-best 124 assists against 56 turnovers in 24 games played.
The Helena, Ark., native and Jonesboro High School product surpassed the 1,000-point plateau during the season and is one of 21 Sun Belt Conference players since the 1991-92 season to have at least 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 300 assists in their career. He is among four players in program history with 1,000 points, 250 rebounds and 250 assists joining Reggie Gordon (1983-87), Micah Marsh (1994-98) and Chico Fletcher (1996-00). He climbed to 10th on the all-time scoring list with 1,321 points scored and is sixth on the all-time assists’ charts with 374. He earns All-Sun Belt honors for the second-consecutive season after being named Third Team All-Sun Belt last season.
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