Uzoh, Jordan earn all-conference honors

IRVING, Texas - Players from five different schools are represented on the 2010 All-Conference USA men's basketball first-team, featuring three repeat all-conference selections and two newcomers.

Seniors Aubrey Coleman of Houston and Ben Uzoh of Tulsa are joined by juniors Elijah Millsap of UAB and Randy Culpepper of UTEP, along with sophomore Elliot Williams of Memphis. All five players are guards. Voting on the awards was done by the C-USA head coaches and media members in each conference city.

Uzoh, a two-time second-team all-conference selection, leads Tulsa in scoring this season at 15.4 points per game, while adding 4.7 rebounds per game and 45 three-pointers made. He has moved into the top 10 in C-USA history in scoring, ranking seventh with 1,895 points. Uzoh is just the sixth player in Tulsa to history to score at least 400 points in three consecutive seasons.

Coleman is a repeat first-team selection and has been the nation's leading scorer this season, averaging 26.0 points per game. The guard from Houston, Texas, scored 420 points during the conference regular season, the second-highest total in league history. Coleman, who has led UH in scoring in all but one game this season, enters this week's GMC Sierra C-USA Men's Basketball Championship with 1,400 points during his two years at UH. He was named C-USA Player of the Week five times this season.

Culpepper made the jump from the all-conference third team to the first team as he helped guide UTEP to its first C-USA title with a 15-1 league record. The junior from Memphis, Tenn., enters the C-USA Championship ranked third in C-USA in scoring at 18.1 points per game. Culpepper has led the Miners in scoring 14 times this season and has moved up fourth place in scoring all-time at UTEP with 1,597 points. He has topped the 30-point mark three times this year, including 45 points against East Carolina on Feb. 13, the most by any C-USA player this season and tied for second-most in league history.

Millsap burst onto the scene for UAB this season, averaging 16.0 points per game (fifth in C-USA), while leading the league in rebounding (9.3) from his guard position. He is one of only two guards to rank among the top 40 players in rebounding in Division I. Millsap, the brother of Utah Jazz star Paul Millsap, tops the conference in double-doubles with 15 (second-most in UAB history).

Williams has scored in double figures in 29 of 31 games this season and is currently averaging 18.5 points per game. He has topped the 20-point mark on 16 occasions, the fourth-highest single-season total in Tiger history. Williams also ranks in C-USA's top 10 in assists per game (3.8) and three-point field goals made (56).

The second team is comprised completely of forwards and centers. Marshall senior Tyler Wilkerson and freshman Hassan Whiteside (the only freshman all-conference selection) are joined by Southern Miss junior Gary Flowers, UTEP junior Derrick Caracter and Tulsa senior Jerome Jordan on the second unit.

SMU placed two student-athletes on the all-conference third team in junior forward Papa Dia and senior guard Derek Williams. The pair was joined by Memphis sophomore swingman Wesley Witherspoon and junior guards Brock Young of East Carolina and Aaron Johnson of UAB.

These 15 All-Conference players will be in action at this week's GMC Sierra C-USA Men's Basketball Championship, March 10-13 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

2009-10 ALL-CONFERENCE USA FIRST TEAM

Aubrey Coleman, Houston, G, 6-4, 200, Sr., Houston, Texas

Randy Culpepper, UTEP, G, Jr., 6-0, 165, Jr., Memphis, Tenn.

Elijah Millsap, UAB, G, Jr., 6-6, 211, Grambling, La.

Ben Uzoh, Tulsa, G, 6-3, 200, Sr., San Antonio, Texas

Elliot Williams, Memphis, G, 6-5, 180, So., Memphis, Tenn.

2009-10 ALL-CONFERENCE USA SECOND TEAM

Derrick Caracter, UTEP, F, 6-9, 275, Jr., Fanwood, N.J.

Gary Flowers, Southern Miss, F, 6-8, 214, Jr., Dallas, Texas

Jerome Jordan, Tulsa, C, 7-0, 245, Sr., Kingston, Jamaica

Hassan Whiteside, Marshall, F, 6-11, 235, Fr., Gastonia, N.C.

Tyler Wilkerson, Marshall, F, 6-8, 240, Sr., Lexington, Ky.

2009-10 ALL-CONFERENCE USA THIRD TEAM

Papa Dia, SMU, F, 6-9, 235, Jr., St. Louis, Senegal

Aaron Johnson, UAB, G, 5-8, 175, Jr., Chicago, Ill.

Derek Williams, SMU, G, 6-1, 170, Sr., Jamaica, N.Y.

Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis, F/G, 6-9, 210, So., Atlanta, Ga.

Brock Young, East Carolina, G, 5-11, 175, Jr., Raleigh, N.C.