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Princeton University Athletics
Photo by: Princeton Athletic Communications
Bell, Cannady, Stephens Earn Ivy Honors
March 06, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Senior Amir Bell and juniors Devin Cannady and Myles Stephens, a trio that started all 29 games for the Tigers this season, also all earned Ivy League honors as the league announced its annual awards Tuesday.
Bell was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, the second straight Tiger to earn the honor and the third since the award was inaugurated in 2009. Along with Stephens' award in 2017 and Kareem Maddox '11 winning the honor in 2011, Princeton has won the most Defensive Player of the Year awards as no other school has more than two.
Bell played the second-most minutes of any Tiger this season, behind Cannady, and was third on the team in both scoring (10.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) while leading the team in assists (107), standing fourth in the league in assists per game (3.7) and having the league's second-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.5. Defensively, Bell led the team with 40 steals and was third in the league at 1.4 per game. He finished his career 31st in program history in scoring at 1,043 points and sixth in assists at 308. It's just the second time in the 10-year history of the award that the Defensive Player of the Year honoree was not included on the All-Ivy League teams, as happened last in 2013 with Brown's Cedric Kuakumensah.
Cannady, a second-team honoree, earns his second All-Ivy League honor after being named honorable mention last season. Already 14th on Princeton's all-time scoring list with 1,224 points, Cannady scored the 11th-most points in a season in program history this year, with his 484 and 16.7 points per game leading the team. Playing a team-high 36.7 minutes per game, Cannady drained 80 3-pointers, more than double any other Tiger, and shot .884 from the free-throw line while standing second on the team in rebounds at 5.4 per game and in steals with 24. In the league, Cannady stood sixth in scoring, 13th in rebounding, tops in free throw percentage, 11th in 3-point field goal percentage (.394), tops in 3-pointers made overall and per game (2.8), and tops in minutes per game. He'll enter next season fourth in program history in career 3-pointers (218) and with the potential to become only the third player in program history with four 50 3-pointer seasons.
Stephens, a second-team honoree, was a first-teamer last season. He was the team's second-leading scorer at 15.3 points per game and leading rebounder at 6.3 a contest and shot blocker with 26. Stephens shot .520 from the field, the best of any Tiger with at least 100 field goal tries. Stephens will enter next season just 21 points from becoming the 35th player in program history to score 1,000 career points as well as ninth in program history in career blocked shots, with 61. In the league, Stephens finished ninth in scoring and fourth in rebounding, standing as one of just three players in the top 10 in both categories along with Yale's Miye Oni and Cornell's Stone Gettings. Stephens was also sixth in field goal percentage, eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.412) and eighth in blocks per game (0.9).
2017-18 Men's Basketball All-Ivy
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Seth Towns, Harvard (So., F – Columbus, Ohio)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: *Desmond Cambridge, Brown (Fr., G – Nashville, Tenn.)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Amir Bell, Princeton (Sr., G – East Brunswick, N.J.)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Steve Donahue, Penn
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
*AJ Brodeur, Penn (So., F – Northborough, Mass.)
*Matt Morgan, Cornell (Jr., G – Concord, N.C.)
*Miye Oni, Yale (So., G – Porter Ranch, Calif.)
*Seth Towns, Harvard (So., F – Columbus, Ohio)
Chris Lewis, Harvard (So,. G – Alpharetta, Ga.)
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY^
Stone Gettings, Cornell (Jr., F – Malibu, Calif.)
Myles Stephens, Princeton (Jr., F – Lawrenceville, N.J.)
Ryan Betley, Penn (So., G – Downingtown, Pa.)
Mike Smith, Columbia (So., G – Burr Ridge, Ill.)
Desmond Cambridge, Brown (Fr., G – Nashville, Tenn.)
Devin Cannady, Princeton (Jr., G – Mishawaka, Ind.)
Trey Phills, Yale (Jr., G – Charlotte, N.C.)
HONORABLE MENTION
Darnell Foreman, Penn (Sr., G – Camden, N.J.)
Justin Bassey, Harvard (So., G – Denver, Colo.)
*unanimous selection ^second team expanded due to ties in the voting
Bell was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, the second straight Tiger to earn the honor and the third since the award was inaugurated in 2009. Along with Stephens' award in 2017 and Kareem Maddox '11 winning the honor in 2011, Princeton has won the most Defensive Player of the Year awards as no other school has more than two.
Bell played the second-most minutes of any Tiger this season, behind Cannady, and was third on the team in both scoring (10.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) while leading the team in assists (107), standing fourth in the league in assists per game (3.7) and having the league's second-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.5. Defensively, Bell led the team with 40 steals and was third in the league at 1.4 per game. He finished his career 31st in program history in scoring at 1,043 points and sixth in assists at 308. It's just the second time in the 10-year history of the award that the Defensive Player of the Year honoree was not included on the All-Ivy League teams, as happened last in 2013 with Brown's Cedric Kuakumensah.
Cannady, a second-team honoree, earns his second All-Ivy League honor after being named honorable mention last season. Already 14th on Princeton's all-time scoring list with 1,224 points, Cannady scored the 11th-most points in a season in program history this year, with his 484 and 16.7 points per game leading the team. Playing a team-high 36.7 minutes per game, Cannady drained 80 3-pointers, more than double any other Tiger, and shot .884 from the free-throw line while standing second on the team in rebounds at 5.4 per game and in steals with 24. In the league, Cannady stood sixth in scoring, 13th in rebounding, tops in free throw percentage, 11th in 3-point field goal percentage (.394), tops in 3-pointers made overall and per game (2.8), and tops in minutes per game. He'll enter next season fourth in program history in career 3-pointers (218) and with the potential to become only the third player in program history with four 50 3-pointer seasons.
Stephens, a second-team honoree, was a first-teamer last season. He was the team's second-leading scorer at 15.3 points per game and leading rebounder at 6.3 a contest and shot blocker with 26. Stephens shot .520 from the field, the best of any Tiger with at least 100 field goal tries. Stephens will enter next season just 21 points from becoming the 35th player in program history to score 1,000 career points as well as ninth in program history in career blocked shots, with 61. In the league, Stephens finished ninth in scoring and fourth in rebounding, standing as one of just three players in the top 10 in both categories along with Yale's Miye Oni and Cornell's Stone Gettings. Stephens was also sixth in field goal percentage, eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.412) and eighth in blocks per game (0.9).
2017-18 Men's Basketball All-Ivy
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Seth Towns, Harvard (So., F – Columbus, Ohio)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: *Desmond Cambridge, Brown (Fr., G – Nashville, Tenn.)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Amir Bell, Princeton (Sr., G – East Brunswick, N.J.)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Steve Donahue, Penn
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
*AJ Brodeur, Penn (So., F – Northborough, Mass.)
*Matt Morgan, Cornell (Jr., G – Concord, N.C.)
*Miye Oni, Yale (So., G – Porter Ranch, Calif.)
*Seth Towns, Harvard (So., F – Columbus, Ohio)
Chris Lewis, Harvard (So,. G – Alpharetta, Ga.)
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY^
Stone Gettings, Cornell (Jr., F – Malibu, Calif.)
Myles Stephens, Princeton (Jr., F – Lawrenceville, N.J.)
Ryan Betley, Penn (So., G – Downingtown, Pa.)
Mike Smith, Columbia (So., G – Burr Ridge, Ill.)
Desmond Cambridge, Brown (Fr., G – Nashville, Tenn.)
Devin Cannady, Princeton (Jr., G – Mishawaka, Ind.)
Trey Phills, Yale (Jr., G – Charlotte, N.C.)
HONORABLE MENTION
Darnell Foreman, Penn (Sr., G – Camden, N.J.)
Justin Bassey, Harvard (So., G – Denver, Colo.)
*unanimous selection ^second team expanded due to ties in the voting
Players Mentioned
Friday, March 06
Friday, February 20
Wednesday, February 04
Tuesday, January 27