April 16, 2003
ATLANTA – Sophomore B.J. Elder and freshman Chris Bosh shared Georgia Tech’s Most Valuable Player award at the Yellow Jackets’ annual banquet Tuesday night at Druid Hills Golf Club, while junior guard Marvin Lewis won the team’s Outstanding Student-Athlete Award.
Tech finished the season with a 16-15 overall record after advancing to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament, its second post-season appearance in three years. The Jackets finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 7-9 record.
“My favorite memory of the past year was when we beat Georgia and saw the joy on your faces,” said head coach Paul Hewitt to his players during Tuesday night’s banquet. “Then when B.J. made the game-winning shot at Iowa in the NIT and seeing you guys celebrate with him. I want to you to enjoy more of those memories next year.”
Bosh, a 6-10 forward from Lancaster, Texas, earned second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors and was the ACC Rookie of the Year after leading the conference in field goal percentage (56.0) and blocked shots (2.16), while ranking second in rebounding (9.0) and eighth in scoring (15.6). Elder, a 6-4 guard from Madison, Ga., was Tech’s second-leading scorer at 15.0, ninth in the ACC, and ranked seventh in the conference in overall field goal percentage (46.1) and three-point percentage (39.6).
Lewis, a 6-4 guard from Germantown, Md., and Tech’s team captain, was the Jackets’ third-leading scorer in 2003, averaging 12.2 points to rank 20th in the ACC. He also ranked ninth in three-point percentage (36.6) and sixth in three-pointers per game (2.03). The management major continued to star in the classroom with a 3.6 grade-point average in the fall semester, earning a spot on the Dean’s List.
Other awards given at Tuesday’s banquet included Best Playmaker to freshman point guard Jarrett Jack, Mr. Defense to sophomore forward Ismai’l Muhammad, Mr. Hustle to sophomore forward Ed Nelson, and the Most Improved Player to freshman forward/center Theodis Tarver. Bosh also received the Best Rebounder award.
Tech will return all 13 of its letterwinners from the 2002-03 season for next year’s squad, and will add 5-11 guard Will Bynum, a transfer from Arizona who becomes eligible following fall semester, and 6-3 freshman Mario West of Douglasville, Ga., who red-shirted this past year.
