Amida Brimah wins AAC defensive player of the year honors

While he's more than deserving, I wasn't sure if Amida Brimah would win the AAC's defensive player of the year award this season. I guess I thought the possibility of awarding so many players (Ryan Boatright for POY? Daniel Hamilton for ROY?) on a sixth-place team might hurt his chances.

It didn't Brimah earns the award, after blocking a league-record 101 shots during the regular season.

SMU's Markus Kennedy won the Sixth Man Award, while his teammate, Yanick Moreira, was most improved player.

And while few would put the words "sportsmanship" and "Memphis" together in the same sentence, Memphis forward Shaq Goodwin was chosen the winner of the league's Sportsmanship Award.

Brimah, the latest in a long line of standout centers for UConn, led the American Athletic Conference in total blocks as a sophomore and was second in the league in blocks per game (3.4). He averaged a league-leading 4.0 blocks per game in conference play and was the anchor of a UConn squad that held opponents to 39.7-percent field goal shooting. Brimah, who was an honorable mention all-conference selection, started all 30 games for the Huskies, averaging 10.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Kennedy earned honors as The American’s Sixth Man after he averaged 11.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in 20 regular-season games off the bench. He shot 56.3 percent from the field and ranked 11th in the league in scoring in conference games (11.8 ppg). Kennedy was named to the all-conference second team earlier this week.

Moreira, who also earned second-team all-conference honors, was tabbed as the league’s Most Improved Player after he finished the regular season as SMU’s second-leading scorer (11.3 ppg) and the team’s top rebounder (6.4 rpg). He started all 30 games and ranked seventh in The American in rebounding and blocks (1.3 per game). He averaged 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds for the Mustangs last season.

Goodwin averaged 9.5 points and 7.1 rebounds for Memphis, but was recognized by the league coaches for his sportsmanship, positive demeanor, commitment to player safety and public support of both his teammates and opponents.

The league’s Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards will be presented at a Thursday luncheon at the XL Center in Hartford.

Complete coverage of the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship will be available on the conference’s Championship Central page atwww.TheAmerican.org/mbb.