Former Newton High School basketball standout Stephen Croone has been named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press for his efforts with the Furman Paladins.
Croone, a Furman senior, averaged 17.1 points per game, including 19.2 against Southern Conference opponents, is the first Paladin to garner AP Honorable Mention All-America honors since Jonathan Moore in 1978.
Croone was also named the Southern Conference Player of the Year, All-Southern Conference team member and NABC All-District First Team accolades. Furman finished 19-16, including 11-7 in the Southern Conference, good enough for third place. The Paladins finished in the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
The 2012 Newton High School graduate ended his career at Furman ranked fifth in scoring with 1,936 points. He was a three-time All-Southern Conference player and is among the top five Paladins in points, assists and steals.
Croone was a first-team Georgia Athletic Coaches Association AAAAA All-State team member for two straight years, and an honorable mention Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-State performer in his senior season. He led Newton to three straight region titles, and averaged 20.8 points per game, 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game in his final season.
2015-16 Associated Press All-America Teams
First Team
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Brice Johnson, North Carolina
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Second Team
Jakob Poeltl, Utah
Ben Simmons, LSU
Perry Ellis, Kansas
Kris Dunn, Providence
Georges Niang, Iowa State
Third Team
Grayson Allen, Duke
Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell, Indiana
Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa
Kay Felder, Oakland
Jamal Murray, Kentucky
Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)
Ryan Anderson, Arizona; Anthony "Cat" Barber, N.C. State; DeAndre' Bembry, Saint Joseph's; Ben Bentil, Providence; Trevon Bluiett, Xavier; Joel Bolomboy, Weber State; Evan Bradds, Belmont; Dillon Brooks, Oregon; Cane Broome, Sacred Heart; John Brown, High Point; Antonio Campbell, Ohio; Kyle Collinsworth, BYU; Stephen Croone, Furman; James Daniel III, Howard; Juan'ya Green, Hofstra; Derrick Griffin, Texas Southern; Alex Hamilton, Louisiana Tech; A.J. Hammons, Purdue; Marvelle Harris, Fresno State; Josh Hart, Villanova; Danuel House, Texas A&M; Brandon Ingram, Duke; Stefan Jankovic, Hawaii; Tim Kempton, Lehigh; Max Landis, IPFW; Shawn Long, Louisiana-Lafayette; Dallas Moore, North Florida; Nic Moore, SMU; Gary Payton II, Oregon State; Alec Peters, Valparaiso; Justin Robinson, Monmouth (N.J.); Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga; Justin Sears, Yale; Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State; Melo Trimble, Maryland; Fred VanVleet, Wichita State; Thomas Walkup, Stephen F. Austin; Jameel Warney, Stony Brook; Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall; Greg Wiltjer, Gonzaga.
