NSU’s Sharp, Black named to NABC All-District Teams

NATCHITOCHES, La. (NSU) - The accolades for two of Northwestern State’s most productive players during the 2022-23 season continue to roll in for the Demon backcourt.

Southland Conference Player and Newcomer of the Year Demarcus Sharp and record-breaking shooting guard Ja’Monta Black were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All-District 22 Team on Tuesday.

The senior backcourt duo are the first Demons honored on an NABC All-District team since Ishmael Lane was honored following the 2018-19 season.

Sharp, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard from Charleston, Missouri, was a first-team pick after a season in which he led the Southland Conference in scoring (19.5 points per game) and ranked second in the league in assists and assists per game (165, 5.0) and in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0).

A first-team Southland Conference All-Defensive Team selection, Sharp ranked third in the league in steals (1.9 per game) and was fourth in blocks (0.8) behind three players who stand at least 6-7. As the nation enters postseason play this week, Sharp has nine top-100 national statistical rankings.

Last week, Sharp was named a finalist for the Lou Henson Player of the Year Award, which honors the nation’s top mid-major Division I player.

A four-time Southland Conference Player of the Week who also earned National Player of the Week honors from CollegeInsider.com and Mid-Major Madness in early December, Sharp finished the season with his second set of consecutive 30-point games, averaging 31.5 points and 8 assists per game in the Southland Conference Tournament. Sharp finished his first season in a Demon uniform with 644 points, the fourth-highest single-season total in program history.

Black, a 6-4, 205-pound guard from Columbia, Missouri, earned second-team all-district honors after establishing Northwestern State’s single-season 3-point record, connecting on 122 shots from beyond the arc. Black’s total surpassed the former school record by 36 and ranks second in Southland Conference history.

A Missouri State transfer like Sharp, Black was a second-team All-Southland Conference selection and ranks fourth nationally in both 3-pointers made and 3-pointers made per game (3.81). A two-time Southland Conference Player of the Week, Black twice scored 31 points in a game, including in a Jan. 19 win at Southeastern in which he was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws to tie the game with 13.5 seconds remaining to force overtime in an eventual 91-81 NSU win.