Ivanyo Tabbed HCAC Player of the Year

Anderson University men's basketball sophomore Tate Ivanyo has been tabbed the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Player of the Year, which was announced by the conference on Wednesday.

Ivanyo is the conference's first sophomore player of the year in the modern era of digital archiving, which dates back to the 2004-05 season. In addition to Ivanyo garnering first-team all-conference honors, junior Camden Smith collected second-team all-HCAC recognition and freshman Bryson Huckeby received all-HCAC Honorable Mention. Ivanyo, Smith and Huckeby are each first-time all-conference recipients.

Tate Ivanyo (So., Wing, Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Twp.)

• Conference-Only Stats: 18.4 Points Per Game (1st in HCAC), 3.2 3-Pointers Made Per Game (1st in HCAC), .464 3-Point Field-Goal Percentage (2nd in HCAC), 1.5 Steals Per Game (T-9 in HCAC), 5.9 Rebounds Per Game
• Regular-Season Stats: 17.8 Points Per Game (2nd in HCAC), .424 3-Point Field-Goal Percentage (23rd in nation, 1st in HCAC), 2.92 3-Pointers Made Per Game (28th in nation, 2nd in HCAC), 5.9 Rebounds Per Game (T-8 in HCAC), 1.3 Steals Per Game
• Coach Carter Collins's Comments: There are very few superlatives that can be used to accurately describe what Tate means to our program. In the last 16 months, Tate has gone from a skinny freshman sitting at the end of the bench (he received zero minutes in his first four career games) all the way to becoming the Conference Player of the Year - the first sophomore in many years to be recognized as such. Tate leads our team in time spent in the gym, and he has worked himself into a devastating offensive player - at 6-foot-4, one of the best shooters in the conference, while also improving his off-the-dribble game to use in moments where opponents overplay his shot. Tate is a heavy contributor for us on the glass and on the defensive end, as well. And he does all of this while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA in one of the most difficult majors on campus. The sky is the limit for Tate, and I feel like he's just scratching the surface of what he's capable of.
• Tate Ivanyo's Comments: I am extremely honored and grateful that I was selected as Conference Player of the Year. I could not have done it without God, and the coaching staff and my teammates pushing me every day. It has been a great season and I'm super excited for the tournament.

Camden Smith (Jr., Guard, West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison)

• HCAC Player-of-the-Week Recipient
• Conference-Only Stats: 14.9 Points Per Game, 3.4 Assists Per Game (5th in HCAC), .474 Field-Goal Percentage (5th in HCAC)
• Overall Stats: 14.6 Points Per Game, .500 Field-Goal Percentage (3rd in HCAC), 3.2 Assists Per Game (6th in HCAC)
• Coach Carter Collins's Comments: Cam has been an absolute joy to coach. He is perhaps our most competitive player, and he has really stepped up this year as one of our most vocal leaders, when we needed some guys to do so. He is incredibly difficult to stop from getting into the paint, and has really improved as a passer this season, as well. Cam is somebody that I would love to have on my roster in any year, and in any situation - he is truly somebody that you can go to battle with. I am incredibly proud of the player he's worked himself into, and can't wait to see what the future holds for him. His whole class - Cam, Alex Hunt, Jordan Gadis, Fred Shropshire, and Gavin Dowling - have all been fantastic, and they have a chance to go down as one of the best classes in AU Basketball history.

Bryson Huckeby (Fr., Wing, Freeland, Mich./Freeland)

• Conference-Only Stats: 10.1 Points Per Game, 7.7 Rebounds Per Game (4th in HCAC)
• Overall Stats: 9.1 Points Per Game, 7.5 Rebounds Per Game (4th in HCAC), 1.1 Steals Per Game
• Coach Carter Collins's Comments: Bryson has had a phenomenal freshman season. Nobody has described him more accurately than his own father, who told me before one of our preseason scrimmages, "He's a winner." That could not be more true. Bryson came to AU after an incredibly decorated high school career, both on the basketball court and also the football field. I feel like his energy has carried over to the guys in our program. Bryson is a fantastic rebounder at his size, which opens up some possibilities for us offensively, and he has made great strides in his offensive game even just since the start of this season. I can't wait to see what he's capable of in the next few years, along with his roommate and best friend Elijah Mattingly, who I also thought was worthy of recognition.

UP NEXT

The Ravens (16-9) continue their season in the HCAC Semifinals. Second-seeded Anderson faces off with third-seeded Hanover College (17-9) on Friday at 5 p.m. in North Manchester.