BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Gulf South Conference announced its annual awards for men’s basketball following the 2023-24 season, as voted by the conference’s head coaches.
West Georgia junior Zawdie Jackson headlined the individual accolades as he was named GSC Player of the Year. Union rookie Jordan Pyke garnered Freshman of the Year honorees, while West Georgia’s Dave Moore took home Coach of the Year.
In all-conference voting, nine of the ten honorees were first time recipients. Alabama Huntsville led the way with three all-conference selections, West Georgia and Christian Brothers each had two representatives, while Lee, Mississippi College and Delta State each had one.
Jackson was unanimously voted as the conference’s top player laurels, averaging 21.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. The junior point guard also shot 51.7 percent (186-of-360) from the floor, including a 47 percent clip (49-for-104) from behind the arc. Among league leaders, he was second in scoring per game, field goals made and total assists (152), while being fourth in field goal percentage. Jackson is also the first men’s UWG recipient of the Player of the Year award since Marquill Smith won it in 2018-19.
Pyke was named the conference’s top freshman after scoring 13.8 points per game with 5.8 rebounds per contest. The versatile rookie also completed 52 percent (130-for-250) of shots from the floor and was 19-for-73 (.260) from distance while filling up the season stat sheet with 21 steals, 14 blocks, and 55 assists. As a result, Pyke finished among conference top-20 in per game scoring (19th), rebounds per game (16th), total rebounds (19th/144) and field goal shooting (3rd). Pyke is the third Bulldog to win the award since the 2016-17 season joining Tray Boyd (2016-17), Tyree Boykin (2017-18) and Justin Debuck (2020-21).
Moore earned his second GSC coaching award and first since the 2020-21 campaign. Under his direction, West Georgia captured its first regular season title since 2014-15 while going 19-5 in conference play with a 23-5 overall. The Wolves featured a solid two-way team leading the conference in scoring (81.8 ppg) while allowing the third-fewest points (70.2 ppg). Moore is the first UWG men’s coach to win twice in a career since Roger Kaiser won it following 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons.
2023-24 GSC Men’s Basketball Awards
Player of the Year: Zawdie Jackson, West Georgia^
Freshman of the Year: Jordan Pyke, Union
Coach of the Year: Dave Moore, West Georgia
First Team All-GSC
Zawdie Jackson, West Georgia
Beyuan Hendricks, Lee#
Rashad Bolden, Mississippi College
Christian Jones, Christian Brothers
Camron Donatlan, West Georgia
Second Team All-GSC
Keithean Brooks, Delta State
Anias Futrell, Christian Brothers
Luke Burnett, Alabama Huntsville
Jack Kostel, Alabama Huntsville
Tommy Murr, Alabama Huntsville
^ Unanimous pick
* Previous First Team All-GSC selection
# Previous Second Team All-GSC selection