Kansas City, Mo. – Illinois State junior Milik Yarbrough has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District First Team, while junior Phil Fayne was named to the Second Team.
Yarbrough had previously been named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year and had earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, while Fayne was named to the MVC Second Team. Both earned spots onto the MVC All-Tournament Team.
Yarbrough, a native of Zion, Illinois, averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, and his season totals of 531 points, 210 rebounds, and 152 assists make him one of just three players in the country this season – and one of just 39 since 1992-93 – to record season totals of 500 points, 200 rebounds, and 150 assists in a season.
Fayne, a native of Elk Grove, California, averaged 15.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while also leading the team with 35 blocked shots and finishing second on the team with 28 blocked shots. Fayne made 181-of-304 shots from the field during the season. He was the only player in the country to average at least 15.5 points per game with 25 blocks and 35 steals, while shooting at least .595 from the field – and just the 36th since 1992-93.
Illinois State closed the 2017-18 season with an 18-15 overall record, while finishing as the 2018 MVC Tournament runner-up. For the fifth consecutive season, the Redbirds had equaled or bettered their preseason poll prediction.
Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com.
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