Rock Hill, S.C. – Two of the most decorated players in the history of the Winthrop men's basketball program received recognition on Friday as Keon Johnson and Xavier Cooks were named to the 2010-19 Big South Conference Men's Basketball All-Decade Team Presented by Hercules Tires.

Johnson and Cooks were teammates for three years and in 2016-17 helped lead Winthrop to its 11^th Big South Conference Championship and 10^th NCAA Tournament appearance.
Johnson was the 2016-17 Big South Conference Player of the Year and a two-time All-Big South First Team selection (2015-16, 2016-17). He was named the 2017 Big South Conference Tournament MVP after averaging 29.3 in three games. He became just the sixth player in league history to earn Player of the Year and Tournament MVP honors in the same season.

In 2016-17 Johnson was also named an Associated Press All-American and a CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-American. Johnson is a two-time NABC All-District First Team selection (2015-16, 2016-17). In 2017 he was named to the NCAA.com All-Week Team and the NCAA.com Player of the Week on Mar. 6, 2017.

Over the course of his career Johnson dazzled fans with his ability to score and turned in a number of big games that led to 2,067 career points. Johnson is the program's all-time leading scorer and ranks 8^th all-time in Big South history. He became the first Winthrop player to ever average 20 points per game during Big South play and did so twice (2015-16, 2016-17). He also holds the program career mark for free throws made and three-point field goals made. In 2016-17 he set the program record for three point field goals made in a single-season with 102. That year he also became the first Eagle to ever hit 100 or more free throws in league games only.

Cooks was named the 2017-18 Big South Conference Player of the Year, which was the first time the Eagles had the Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. In fact, Cooks became just the 4^th player in program history to be voted the Big South Player of the Year. He finished his career with 1,778 points which ranks 3^rd all-time in program history and 18^th on the Big South all-time scoring list.

In addition to his Player of the Year honor in 2017-18, Cooks was named an Associated Press All-American and earned his second straight All-Big South First Team selection. In 2015-16 Cooks was voted to the second team, making him just the 4^th player in program history to earn all-conference honors three times. Cooks became the program's all-time leader in rebounds (983) and is also the career leader in blocked shots (221). Cooks is the only player in the history of the Big South with 1,500 points, 800 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 blocks, and 100 steals in a career.

Other accolades for Cooks include NABC All-District First Team (2017-18), NABC All-District Second Team (2016-17), 2016-17 Big South Conference All-Tournament Team and he was a participant in the NABC Annual All-Star Game in 2017-18. His 983 career rebounds rank 5^th all-time in Big South history and his 221 blocks rank 6^th.

Johnson and Cooks join Fred McKinnon (1985-89), Tyson Waterman (1990-99), Greg Lewis (2000-09) and Torrell Martin (2000-09) as members of a Big South Conference All-Decade Team.

The league's All-Decade Teams were first unveiled as part of the Big South's 30th Anniversary celebration in 2013-14 to recognize the student-athletes and coaches who excelled in their respective sport in each decade since the Conference's founding in 1983.

A 15-person committee of Big South Conference administrators served as the official voting panel to determine the All-Decade Team, with fan voting comprising 20 percent of the overall total.  The 2010-19 Men's Basketball All-Decade Team is listed below in alphabetical order and features 12 players and one head coach.  In case of ties, additional honorees have been added.
 
2010-19 MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-DECADE TEAM PRESENTED BY HERCULES TIRES
Name, School (Notables)
Nick Barbour, High Point (Mid-Major All-American, 3-time All-Conference)
John Brown, High Point (2-time All-American, 2-time Player of the Year, 4-time All-Conference)
Chris Clemons, Campbell (All-American, Player of the Year, 4-time All-Conference)
Xavier Cooks, Winthrop (All-American, Player of the Year, 3-time All-Conference)
Matt Dickey, UNC Asheville (All-American, Player of the Year, 2-time All-Conference)
David Efianayi, Gardner-Webb (3-time All-Conference)
Javonte Green, Radford (Defensive Player of the Year, 3-time All-Conference)
Keon Johnson, Winthrop (All-American, Player of the Year, 2-time All-Conference)
Carlik Jones, Radford (Mid-Major All-American, Player of the Year, 3-time All-Conference)
Kelvin Martin, Charleston Southern (2-time Defensive Player of the Year, 2-time All-Conference)
Saah Nimley, Charleston Southern (All-American, Player of the Year, 2-time All-Conference)
Stan Okoye, VMI (All-American, Player of the Year, 2-time All-Conference)
Ed Polite Jr., Radford (Defensive Player of the Year, 3-time All-Conference)
Jesse Sanders, Liberty (All-American, Player of the Year, 2-time All-Conference)
Ahmad Thomas, UNC Asheville (2-time Defensive Player of the Year, 2-time All-Conference)
 
Head Coach, School (Notables)
Eddie Biedenbach, UNC Asheville (2 Championships, 2 NCAA Tournaments, 48-22 Big South record, 75-56 overall, Big South Hall of Fame member)
Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina (2 Championships, 2 NCAA Tournaments, 2 NIT berths, 2 CIT berths, 87-35 Big South record, 155-75 overall)