CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Big South Conference announced its men's basketball All-Conference awards Tuesday afternoon (Mar. 5) naming five High Point Panthers to the selection. In his first season as the head coach, Alan Huss was named the Big South Coach of the Year while Juslin Bodo Bodo was named the Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year and Duke Miles was named the Newcomer of the Year.
 
Alan Huss – Coach of the Year
 
Taking over at the helm less than a year ago, Coach Huss has guided the Panthers to an overall record of 24-7, which is the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history, and the most wins in HPU's NCAA Division I era. For the first time since the 2015-16 season, High Point was crowned the Big South regular season champs to earn the No. 1 seed entering the Big South Tournament. The Panthers were picked seventh in the Big South Preseason polls after bringing in 11 newcomers this past summer.
 
Coach Huss was named a "mid-season" recipient for the 2024 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year award in early January and was later named the ESPN Coach of the Week in the Men's Power Rankings on January 29. As a team, High Point University was named the Field of 68 Mid-Major Team of the Week on February 6, along with Indiana State, after going 2-0 at home with wins over Longwood University and Presbyterian College in league play.
 
Since cracking the College Insider mid-major top 25 on December 22^nd, the Panthers have not dropped from the top 25 and reached as high as No. 5 on February 5.
 
At one point in the season, the Panthers held the longest active win streak in the country with 12-straight wins (December19-February 7), which was the longest win streak in D1 program history. The previous streak was set during the 2006-07 season with eight.
 
The Panthers ended the non-conference regular season with a win over Bellarmine which earned the team's 11th win in non-conference, making it the most ever since becoming Division I in 1999. The Panthers also finished the non-conference season at home undefeated with an 8-0 record.
 
Juslin Bodo Bodo – Defensive Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | All-Freshman Team
 
After joining the Panthers this past summer as a true Freshman, the 7'0" forward was nothing short of outstanding in High Point's starting five. Starting all 31 games for HPU after averaging five minutes of playing time on his High School team, Bodo Bodo led the team and the Big South in rebounding and blocks averaging 9.1 per game and 1.9 per game respectively. He ranks 42nd in the country in rebounds and 40^th in blocks. He averaged 6.1 points per game and recorded four double-doubles throughout the season. He scored a career-high 18 points at Gardner-Webb on February 10. The freshman broke the HPU and Big South record in Freshman of the Week awards for a single season after collecting his ninth award on Feb. 26th.
 
Duke Miles – Newcomer of the Year | First Team All-Conference
 
Transferring from Troy University this past season, Miles became a prominent factor and team leader for the Panthers. The junior guard started 25 games of his 28 appearances. He led the team and was second in the Big South in scoring averaging 17.8 points per game shooting 53.9% from the field. Miles scored 20+ points in 10 games and scored a career-high 32 points versus Hofstra in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Being an all-around player, he averaged 3.6 assists per game, dishing out 5+ assists in eight different games throughout the season. Miles recorded multiple perfect games from the line and shot 80.5% throughout the season (99-123), knocking down clutch free throws in pressuring moments to help High Point to numerous victories. Miles was named the Big South Player of the Week on November 27 and December 11. He was also named to the 2023-24 Lou Henson Mid-Season Award Watch List.
 
Kezza Giffa – First Team All-Conference
 
The junior guard from Paris, France transferred to High Point this past summer. He appeared in all 31 games with six starts to average 15.7 points per game, finishing the regular season second on the team and third in the Big South. He scored 20+ points in 10 games this season and recorded a career-high 37 points after hitting the game winner over Winthrop on January 27. He became the seventh player in program history to ever record 37+ points in a single game. A key player at the line, Giffa was second in the Big South from the charity stripe shooting 87.4% this season (216-237). Giffa was named the Big South Player of the Week five times (Jan. 8, 2024, Jan. 22, 2024, Jan. 29, 2024, Feb. 5, 2024), the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week (Jan. 23, 2024) and the Field of 68 Mid-Major Brian Burton's Player of the Week (Feb. 5, 2024).
 
Kimani Hamilton – First Team All-Conference
 
The SEC sophomore transfer from Mississippi State landed at High Point this past summer. During the 2023-24 season, Hamilton was a consistent player as a forward on the offensive and defensive ends of the court for the Panthers. He started in all 31 games this season and averaged 15.5 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. He led the team with five double-doubles throughout the season and dropped 20+ points in nine games. He recorded a career-high 34 points against Radford after dropping 30 points in the first half going 13-16 from the field and 6-8 from the three-point line. Hamilton was named the Big South Player of the Week on January 2.
 
Titas Sargiunas – All-Freshman Team
 
The true freshman from Kaunas, Lithuania appeared in 31 games this season. Contributing big minutes off the bench, the freshman averaged 3.5 points per game and 1.2 rebounds. He scored a career-high 13 points versus Presbyterian (Feb. 3), recorded a career-high five rebounds at Gardner-Webb (Feb. 10) and a career-high three assists versus USC Upstate (Feb. 14). Sargiunas was named the Freshman of the Week on two occasions (Jan. 29 & Feb. 5).