Four Hornets named all-conference for 2012-13 roundball campaign
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
Photos by Kevin Nagle and Rick Nation
Tyler Simmons, C.J. Rainey, Brian Reed and K.J. Hill have been named all-conference for[more] the Bryant Hornets basketball team during the 2012-13 season. In addition, Simmons was named to the all-State Tournament team as well.
Simmons, after moving in from Mountain View before last season, averaged 10.2 points per game and led the team in 3-point shots made. He hit 35 percent of his attempts beyond the arc.
“C.J. is the only player we had with more assists that turnovers,” noted Abrahamson. “That was real important to me.”
Rainey averaged 10.4 points and 4.2 rebounds a game.
Reed averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game.
“He gave us a presence around the basket at times,” Abrahamson mentioned. “He improved his play when we got into conference.”
Hill scored 16.4 points a game and averaged 4.2 rebounds a game. He hit 49 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line. He was the team’s leader in steals and assists, but also in turnovers.
Simmons, Rainey and Reed, along with Greyson Giles, will all be returning starters for the Hornets next season. Hill, a sophomore, has transferred to North Little Rock. Among the candidates to fill the fifth spot in the starting line-up, head coach Mike Abrahamson mentioned senior-to-be Cedarrian Crosby and sophomore-to-be Cameron Murray, who finished out the season with the varsity team this spring. The coach also mentioned a recent move-in from the Chicago area, Keith Hayes, who started as a freshman at Little Rock Central two years ago.
It’s the second Bryant starter in as many years to transfer after the season to the school that knocked the Hornets out of the Class 7A State Tournament. After the 2011-12 season, Anthony Black transferred to Little Rock Hall, after Hall, on its way to a State title, defeated Bryant in the State semifinals. This year, North Little Rock, which also eventually won the State title, ousted the Hornets in the quarterfinals.
It was the first time since the early 1980’s that a Bryant basketball team advanced past the first round at the State Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
