2019 American Athletic Conference

Individual Awards

Defensive Player of the Year Laquincy Rideau, USF

Sixth Man of the Year DeJon Jarreau, Houston Most Improved Players Josh Carlton, UConn Nate Pierre-Louis, Temple Sportsmanship Award Galen Robinson, Jr., Houston

The American Athletic Conference announced its individual awards, which include the Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man, Most Improved Players and Sportsmanship Awards, in advance of the 2019 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship, March 14-17 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.No. 11/10 Houston, rv/rv Temple, USF and UConn are represented in the latest wave of American awards with all five players earning their first conference regular-season accolades.Defensive Player of the Year was awarded to USF redshirt-junior point guard Laquincy Rideau in his first year of American Athletic Conference play.Houston, which won the outright American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Sunday, boasts two Tuesday honorees in Sixth Man of the Year, redshirt-sophomore DeJon Jarreau and Sportsmanship Award winner, senior Galen Robinson, Jr.Two players tied for the Most Improved Player award as UConn sophomore Josh Carlton and Temple sophomore Nate Pierre-Louis were recognized for their developed play on the court in 2018-19.Rideau was a driving force on the defensive end for a USF team that boasts a top-five national turnaround from last season ( 9.5 differential). The point guard led The American with 2.9 steals per game which ranks seventh nationally. The redshirt-junior set an American single-game record with 10 steals against Temple on Jan. 12 and he has already set a conference season record with 80 thefts on the year. Additionally, he led the league with 5.4 assists per game and had one of two American triple-doubles this season with 18 points, 10 assists and 10 steals against the Owls.Jarreau came off the bench in each of his 24 games this season but still finished third on the Cougars with 9.2 points per game in just 18.1 minutes per game. His play off the pine helped a deep attack for a Houston team that won its first outright conference title since 1984. The do-it-all guard posted top-15 conference marks in field goal percentage (11, .493), assists (12, 3.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (10, 1.5).Carlton averaged 9.1 points and led UConn with 6.0 rebounds per game, a .618 field goal percentage and 54 blocks. This came a season after averaging just 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds as a freshman. Carlton also upped his field goal percentage by over 100 points. He was the only Huskie to start all 31 games in head coach Dan Hurley's first season in Storrs. This year, Carlton ranked third in The American in field goal percentage, second with 1.7 blocks per game and third with 2.6 offensive rebounds per game.Pierre-Louis was third on Temple with 13.4 points per game and was second on the Owls with 5.7 rebounds per game. He ranked 16in the conference in points, fifth with 1.6 steals per game and sixth with 34.1 minutes per game. He was one of three Temple players to start every game as the Owls posted a 20-win season and clinched the No. 3 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship. Pierre-Louis started just one game last year and improved in nearly every statistical category.Robinson has often been credited by Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson as the keystone in rebuilding a program as Sampson said his senior point guard was able to, "see what was possible, even when nothing was there." The Cougars' point guard is The American's all-time leader in assists (553) and the second-winningest player in Houston history. Robinson is also known for his service off the court as evident in his roles with programs such as Buddy Basketball, Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, NCAA Read to the Final Four Literacy Program, Special Olympics Texas, Team IMPACT, Star of Hope Mission and Light the Night in Houston.The awards were voted on by the league's 12 head coaches.The American Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year will be announced on Wednesday, March 13.For more information on the American Men's Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/mbb The American Athletic Conference (The American), a member of the NCAA, was reconstituted in 2013. With the conference office in Providence, Rhode Island, The American is comprised of the following institutions: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Navy (in football only), USF, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa and Wichita State. Under the leadership of Commissioner Mike Aresco, The American sponsors 22 championships - 10 for men and 12 for women; is a member of the College Football Playoff; began new television partnerships with ESPN and CBS Sports in 2014; and has a marketing partnership with Learfield IMG College. For more information, please visit www.TheAmerican.org