By Kira Nicole Grant, Staff Reporter
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference named freshman guard Wayne Bristol, Jr. as the 2019-2020 MEAC Rookie of the Year on March 6 following the ending of the regular season.
All the MEAC Men’s Basketball Head Coaches and sports information directors voted for this honor among other honorary awards. Other winners of the 2019-2020 basketball season included North Carolina Central Eagles’ senior forward Jibri Blount (Player of the Year), Bethune Cookman Wildcats’s Cletrell Pope (Defensive Player of the Year) and North Carolina A&T State Aggies’ interim Head Coach Willie Jones (Coach of the Year).
Bristol, Jr., a 6-foot-6, 175-pound guard, hailing from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, boasts superb athleticism, shooting range and ball-handling skills.
The freshman guard has a solid long-mid range game, and capabilities to drain three-pointers well beyond the arc. Off the dribble, he has proven his explosiveness and sheer athleticism with his powerful dunks—asserting himself as a strong finisher at the rim.
During the 2019-2020 men’s basketball regular season and MEAC Tournament, the Maryland native has averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game—shooting 41 percent from the field, and nearly 40 percent from the three-point line.
He recorded a season-high 28 points, draining six three-pointers while shooting 60 percent from beyond the arc against the Coppin State Eagles Jan. 27.
In his last two games of the regular season, the sharp-shooter posted a combined 36 points and 11 rebounds, shooting over 43 percent from the field.
On an impressive freshman campaign, Bristol, Jr. posted double-digit point totals in over 22 games and has started over 80 percent of the Bison’s contests.
Bristol, Jr. is the second active Bison on the 2019-2020 roster to receive this honor, along with being named to the MEAC’s All-Rookie Team. Senior guard and MEAC all-time leading scorer, Charles “CJ” Williams earned the MEAC’s 2016-2017 Rookie of the Year award.
As Bristol, Jr. continues to develop his overall-shooting game, and defensive effectiveness, he is a rising Bison to watch. The budding star’s athleticism and unco commitment to both sides of the ball are cementing his name in Bison history.
The Howard University Men’s Basketball team returns to action against the North Carolina A&T State Aggies 8 p.m. March 11 at the MEAC Tournament in Norfolk, Virginia.
