Williams, Witherspoon Garner CUSA Honors

IRVING, Texas - University of Memphis sophomores Elliot Williams and Wesley Witherspoon were named to the 2009-10 All-Conference USA teams, the league office announced Monday. Williams earned All-C-USA first team honors, while Witherspoon took home All-C-USA third team accolades.

It is the ninth-straight season that Memphis placed two or more players on the All-Conference USA squads, dating back to the 2001-02 season. Last year, Tyreke Evans (first team), Antonio Anderson (second team) and Robert Dozier (second team) earned All-C-USA distinction.

The league's second-leading scorer at 18.5 ppg, Williams leads the Tigers in scoring, and also averages 4.2 rebounds from his guard spot. He is shooting 47.2 percent from the floor, 37.8 percent from the arc and 76.4 percent from the charity stripe, and is ranked among Conference USA leaders in all three statistical categories. Williams has 117 assists (second on team) and 41 steals.

Williams, who earned four C-USA Rookie of the Week awards and one C-USA Player of the Week honor during the season, has scored in double figures in 29 of the Tigers 31 games. The Memphis, Tenn., native has 16 games in which is scored 20 or more points, the fourth-most 20-point games in a season since 1991-92. The 6-foot-5 guards 565 points this year are the fourth-most by a sophomore in Tiger history.

Williams scored a career-high 33 points in his Conference USA debut against Southern Miss on Jan. 9. He hit eight treys in the win over the Golden Eagles. The eight three-pointers made were the second-most in a single game in school history, and also set the single-game record for most treys made versus a conference opponent.

Witherspoon, the 2008-09 C-USA Sixth Man of the Year recipient, is the Tigers second-leading scorer at 12.7 ppg and second-leading rebounder at 4.6 rpg. He is shooting 46.2 percent from the floor and 76.6 percent from the free throw line. The 6-foot-9 forward is ranked among the Conference USA leaders in scoring and free throw percentage.

The Atlanta, Ga., native scored in double figures in 12 of 16 Conference USA games, including a career-high 29 points in a win over UAB on Feb. 3. Since the middle of December, Witherspoon raised his scoring average 4.1 ppg (8.3 to 12.4) and rebounding average 1.3 rpg (3.3 to 4.6).

Named Conference USA Player of the Week once during the season, Witherspoon pulled down a career-best nine boards and had a career-high five steals in a win at Tulane Feb. 17. He also posted career highs for blocks (4) versus Tennessee and Rice and assists (6) against SMU at home.

The Tigers (23-8, 13-3 C-USA) begin play in the Conference USA Tournament on Thursday, Mar. 11 at 12 p.m. (CT) as the postseason classics No. 2 seed. Memphis meets the winner of the East Carolina/Houston first round contest, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 10 at 12 p.m. (CT).

The following are the 2009-10 All-Conference USA squads:

ALL-CONFERENCE USA FIRST TEAM
Aubrey Coleman, Houston
Randy Culpepper, UTEP
Elijah Millsap, UAB
Ben Uzoh, Tulsa
Elliot Williams, Memphis

ALL-CONFERENCE USA SECOND TEAM
Derrick Caracter, UTEP
Gary Flowers, Southern Miss
Jerome Jordan, Tulsa
Hassan Whiteside, Marshall
Tyler Wilkerson, Marshall

ALL-CONFERENCE USA THIRD TEAM
Papa Dia, SMU
Aaron Johnson, UAB
Derrick Williams, SMU
Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis
Brock Young, East Carolina