Four Cobras Honored with Conference, Region Awards
Yaakema Rose Jr. Player of the Year, Anthony Figueroa Coach of the Year
Three Parkland men's basketball players were honored by the M-WAC and Region 24 with postseason awards, as announced by the conference and regional offices. Sophomore guard Yaakema Rose Jr. was named Co-Player of the Year in both the M-WAC and Region 24, while head coach Anthony Figueroa was named the 2018-19 M-WAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year.
Joining Rose Jr. on the regional and conference ballots was freshman Bruno Williams Jr., named to the All-Region Team and Second Team All-M-WAC. Sophomore point guard Ty'Ohn Trimble joined Williams Jr. on the Second Team.
Honored with his third M-WAC Coach of the Year accolade in the last four seasons, Figueroa guided the Cobras to a 24-4 season and their fourth conference championship. Ranked as high as third, the Cobras won their first 11 games of the season to mark the most during Figueroa's tenure. Despite featuring 10 newcomers on the roster, the Cobras earned the top seed in the Region 24 Tournament and advanced to the Regional Championship with a 60-59 win over Illinois Central.
A native of Springfield, Ill., Rose led the Cobras with 16.1 points per game with a 43.9 shooting percentage, while also grabbing 4.1 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game. Twice named the Parkland Men's Athlete of the Month (November, February), Rose scored in double figures in 23 of the Cobras' 28 games, including seven 20-point performances with three coming in the final two weeks of the season. Sharing the Player of the Year honors with John Wood's Cory Miller Jr., Rose finished his career at Parkland by averaging 20.5 points across the two Region 24 Tournament games.
Along with Rose Jr., Williams was named to the Region 24 All-Region Team and Second Team All-MWAC as the Cobras' second leading scorer (11.4) and top rebounder (5.7). Passing the 20-point threshold three times on the season, the first-year Cobra accomplished the feat twice in a seven-day span, tallying 20 points at Danville Area on February 16 and then 25 points at John Wood on February 23. The 20-point performance at Danville Area also gave Williams Jr. his second double-double of the season.
The third Cobra to make the M-WAC All-Conference Team, point guard Trimble facilitated an efficient Parkland offense in his second season. Averaging a team-leading 4.2 assists per game, Trimble took care the basketball to a tune of a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranked among the top-25 guards in the country. In addition to setting up his teammates, Trimble also averaged 9.6 points per game to rank third on the team behind a 41.8 field-goal percentage. Trimble scored in double figures in 11 of the team' first 12 games, including a season-high 21 points at Division I Southeastern on December 17.