Army West Point Athletics
Men's Basketball Holds Annual Team Banquet
May 03, 2015 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. - After reaching the 15-win plateau for the third consecutive season, a feat not accomplished since 1970, the Army West Point men's basketball team handed out its annual awards on Sunday afternoon at Kimsey Athletic Center.
Head coach Zach Spiker and assistant coaches Jimmy Allen, Sean Rutigliano, Justin Jennings and Brandon Linton presented individual awards and highlighted the numerous program records achieved by the 2014-15 Black Knights.
In addition to starting the season 5-0 for the first time since 1976-77, the Black Knights excelled in the classroom as well. Army West Point posted the highest team grade-point average in 10 years with a 2.84 GPA in the fall semester and seven players named to West Point Dean's List.
Seniors Sean Billerman, Milton Washington and Mo Williams took home the Senior Class Awards at the annual event. The group was responsible for 58 victories over four seasons. Those 58 wins marked the most victories for any class since 1980. Williams, Maxwell Lenox and Dylan Cox, the team's tri-captains, earned Simpson Memorial Awards, which are given to West Point captains in memory of First Lieutenant Eber E. Simpson, a Class of 1943 USMA graduate.
Billerman was also presented with the Stillwell Award, given for outstanding leadership and character.
The Stillwell Award is presented in honor of Brigadier General Joseph Stillwell, a member of the West Point Class of 1904. Stillwell is known for introducing basketball to the Academy as a cadet and served as the head coach of West Point's first team. Billerman played in seven games, including three starts, and connected on a three-pointer to propel Army West Point to a victory on Senior Day against American.
Junior Tanner Plomb, who was named to the All-Patriot League second team, was presented with the Roosma Award to the team's most valuable player. Plomb was second on the squad with 15.8 points per game and also ranked second on the squad with 5.6 rebounds per night.
The Roosma Award is named for Colonel John S. Roosma, a Class of 1926 USMA graduate. He was captain of the basketball team and was Army's first 1,000-point scorer.
Army finished the 2014-15 season with a 15-15 overall record, which included the program's first win over USC and its first triumph over a Pac-12 team since Dec. 29, 1964. The team defeated Air Force and VMI to capture its first All-Military Classic presented by USAA title, as well as recording the program's first-ever victories over Marist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and Delaware in Newark, Del.
The team will return its top eight scorers in the upcoming 2015-16 season, led by Kyle Wilson, who became the 29th player to reach the 1,000-point club this past season. Wilson scored 17.5 points per game as a junior and currently ranks eighth all-time in scoring with 1,481 through three seasons.
