Precious Hall, Kenny Brooks highlight VaSID All-State Awards for JMU

The Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) voted James Madison women’s basketball junior guard Precious Hall the state’s Player of the Year and Head Coach Kenny Brooks the state’s Coach of the Year on Monday to highlight the 2015 University Division All-State Women’s Basketball awards.

Hall was joined on the All-State First Team by redshirt-senior center Lauren Okafor while junior point guard Angela Mickens was named to the All-State Second Team.

This season, Hall scored 20.8 points per game to lead the Colonial Athletic Association on her way to being the unanimous selection for CAA Player of the Year. She averaged 3.0 3-point field goals per game, the seventh-highest mark in the nation, as she posted 685 points as a junior, the fifth-highest single-season total in JMU history. She was also named to the 2015 Naismith Trophy Midseason 30 Watch List, earned Richmond Times-Dispatch Player of the Year and DI All-State honors and was selected to the CAA All-Tournament Team and Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Star Second Team.

Okafor led the league in total rebounds (9.8) and offensive rebounds (4.1) per game in addition to posting the second-most double-doubles (13) and blocked shots per game (1.7). After averaging a double-double for the season with 12.7 points and 10.0 rebounds, she earned a spot on the All-CAA First Team and CAA All-Defensive Team. Coupling her performance on the court with her work in the classroom and community, she received the 2015 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award and CAA women’s basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.

Mickens, a Nancy Lieberman Award Final 15 honoree, set single-season school records in assists (250) and assists per game (7.57) during the 2014-15 campaign, a per-game average that ranked fourth nationally. Her six double-digit assist performances this season also set a JMU record. She contributed to 871 points for the Dukes this season en route to All-CAA Second Team and CAA All-Defensive Team recognitions as well as Richmond Times-Dispatch DI All-State accolades.

Also the 2015 CAA and Richmond Times-Dispatch Coach of the Year, Brooks led the Dukes to a 29-4 mark to tie a school record for overall wins in a season. He guided JMU to its 1,000th program victory on Jan. 6 (74-57 vs. UNCW) on the way to a school-record 26 victories during the regular season. Brooks also became the all-time winningest coach in JMU women’s basketball history, notching his 303rd win on Feb. 15 with a 94-64 victory over Delaware. Brooks earned the fifth state coaching honor of his career while guiding the Dukes to their fourth CAA Championship and fifth overall NCAA tournament appearance of his tenure.

VaSID All-State awards are voted on by sports information directors from around the state.