Trail Blazers’ Talton earns Region 24 and MWAC Player of the Year honors

QUINCY — For the fifth straight season and the eighth time in the past 10 seasons, the John Wood Community College men’s basketball team has produced the Region 24 Player of the Year.

This year, for just the second time in that stretch, the Trail Blazers swept three major postseason awards.

Credit Jeremiah Talton for that.

A 6-foot-6 swingman who is a Quincy High School graduate, Talton was named the Region 24 Player of the Year, the Mid-West Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the MWAC Freshman of the Year. In 2013-14, the Trail Blazers won the same three awards as TJ Tisdale Jr. captured both Player of the Year honors and Jordan Johnson was the Freshman of the Year.

Talton averaged 21.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent from the free-throw line. His 162 made free throws ranked third in the nation in NJCAA Division II and his 626 total points ranked 11th.

Talton was JWCC’s only representative on the All-MWAC and all-region teams. Danville Area Community College coach DaJuan Gouard was named the Region 24 and MWAC Coach of the year.