Merrill named to Senior CLASS All-American First-Team
The end of season accolades continue to flow into the trophy case of Utah State men’s basketball guard Sam Merrill. The soon-to-be former Aggie was named to the Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievment for Staying in School) All-American First-Team for the 2019-20 season.
As evidenced by the award’s name, only seniors are eligible to be named to the team which takes into account on and off court achievements. Joining Merrill on the First Team are Marquette guard Markus Howard, Seton Hall guard Myles Powell, Kansas center Udoka Azubuike and Michigan State guard Cassius Winston. The organization also awards a Second Team which this year consists of BYU forward/center Yoeli Childs, Dartmouth guard James Foye, William & Mary forward/center Nathan Knight, LSU guard Skylar Mays and Penn State forward Lamar Stevens.
The Senior CLASS First-Team selection is not the first recognition of 2019-20 as Merrill was already named first-team All-Mountain West, All-District by the NABC and USBWA District VIII Player of the Year, each of those being the second year in a row Merrill received those respective honors. These join the numerous awards from his stellar 2018-19 campain which include honorable mention AP All-American.
The team feats Merrill was a part of include a regular season Mountain West championship in 2018-19 and back-to-back conference tournament victories in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Merrill won tournament MVP in both years. Those two trophies sit alongside his 2018-19 Mountain West Player of the Year award which he won for leading the Aggies in their conquest of the conference that year.
This season, Merrill led the Aggies with an average of 19.7 points per game, second in the Mountain West, which came alongside 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. In his three games of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, Merrill averaged 27.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 55.8 percent shooting. Merrill also shot 42.3 percent from three which included an instant-classic game-winning 3-pointer in the conference title game against San Diego State.
Merrill’s career accomplishments include surpassing the 2,000-point mark, one of now 605 such players in the 120+ year history of college basketball. His 2,197 points ranks second in USU and Mountain West history and 265th all-time for the NCAA. He is also the only Aggie to record 2,000 points and 400 assists in a career and one of 31 players since 1992 to have career totals of 2,000 points, 450 assists and 450 rebounds (Merrill finished with 477 assists and 475 rebounds).
— jasonswalker94@gmail.con
@thejwalk67