RICHMOND, Va. ? Senior forward Todd Hendley was named recipient of the prestigious Dean Ehlers Leadership Award to highlight UNC Wilmington's award winners during the Colonial Athletic Association's post-season men's basketball banquet Thursday night at the Richmond Marriott.

            Hendley was joined on the dais by teammates T.J. Carter, Vladimir Kuljanin, Chad Tomko and Darion Jeralds. Carter was named First-Team All-CAA, Kuljanin nabbed Second-Team honors, Tomko collected All-Rookie laurels and Jeralds was honored on the All-Academic team.

            Hendley, a 6-9, 235-pound forward, tied for second on the club in scoring with 12.9 points per game and wound up 17th in the CAA in scoring, 18th in rebounding, fifth in field goal percentage and eighth in free throw percentage. He is the fifth UNCW player to receive in the award in its 14-year history.

            “We're very pleased and proud that Todd has been honored with the Dean Ehlers Award,” said Benny Moss, UNCW's second-year coach. “He has been a tremendous leader on and off the court for us. It couldn't have gone to a more deserving person. He's a great student, a great player and an even better person.”

            Carter enjoyed a tremendous senior season after redshirting one year ago with a hernia condition. The Mechanicsville, Md., product was named First-Team All-CAA after averaging 16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.26 assists this season.

            Carter ranked fourth in the league in scoring, 13th in rebounding and fifth in assists. He leads the CAA in free throw percentage and recently made 37 consecutive free throws to set a new school record. Earlier this week, Carter was named a finalist for the V Foundation Comeback Award presented annually to an individual or team that has accomplished a personal triumph in the face of true adversity.

     “I'm very happy for T.J. became of everything he has gone through,” said Moss. “He's persevered to become an All-Conference player. It's a credit to his dedication and love for the game.”

            Kuljanin, meanwhile, posted 11 double-doubles in his final season and wound up averaging 12.8 points and 9.9 rebounds. The Toronto resident leads the circuit in field goal percentage with a 66.4 percent clip and ranks second in the country in that category.

            “It's a good reward for the strides he made this year,” Moss said of Kuljanin's honor. “He elevated his game. He shot well last year, but became much better defensively and with rebounding. That's why he made the All-Conference team this year.”

            Tomko finished second in the Rookie-of-the-Year voting to Hofstra's Charles Jenkins after averaging 8.6 points and starting all 31 games for the Seahawks in 2007-08. The Charlotte, N.C., product was named CAA Rookie-of-the-Week three times and reached double figures in scoring -11 times and poured in a career-high 24 points in UNCW's 99-85 victory over James Madison on Feb. 9 at Trask Coliseum.

            Tomko is UNCW's seventh All-Rookie selection, joining Joe Cherry (1989), Bryan Withers (1989), Darren Moore (1993), Oleg Kojenets (1997), Brett Blizzard (2000) and John Goldsberry (2000).

            “Chad became one of the better point guards in the league. He's progressed this year and he's a big reason why we're the No. 2 seed.”

            Jeralds, a sophomore guard majoring in Business Management, continued UNCW's long tradition of placing players on the All-Academic unit. “Darion's a true student-athlete who is an inspiration to his teammates. He has excelled on the court and in the classroom.”

            Moss was the runnerup to William & Mary's Tony Shaver for CAA Coach-of-the-Year. Shaver had 20 votes to 18 for Moss, who piloted the Seahawks to one of the best turnaround seasons in the NCAA Division I ranks this season.