Shane Henry, driving against Chattahoochee Tech, led the conference in rebounds, defensive rebounds and blocked shots. (photo by Leita Cowart)

by Wade Marbaugh

Georgia Perimeter College sophomore Shane Henry captured the attention of opponents and their coaches during the most recent men’s basketball season—earning the honor of conference Defensive Player of the Year.

The Jaguars center-forward, who hails from Newton County High School, also was named to the All-Region 17 first team.

The honors take on additional significance because they occurred during a disappointing year for the GPC program. For the first time since head coach Alfred Barney took the helm of men’s basketball at Georgia Perimeter College, the Jaguars didn’t make the postseason.

Georgia Perimeter finished the season with a 16-14 overall record and 8-12 in Region 17 of the National Junior College Athletic Association, tied for eighth place with Gordon State College. Only the top six teams enter the region postseason tournament.

The unusual finish didn’t seem to discourage Barney, who noted that the loss in the final game didn’t represent the Jaguars’ previous momentum.

“We haven’t played like this for the last two games,” he said. “But we’ll reload. About six players will be back next year. We’ll be back.”

An eighth-place finish also didn’t faze the coaches of the conference when it came to heaping honors on Henry, who was a shot-blocking machine for the Jaguars, far and away leading the conference in blocks per game with 4.7 (the second high average was 2.6).

Henry also led the conference in rebounds with 363 (12.2 per game) and defensive rebounds, 225.

Offensively, he was the top scorer for the Jaguars, averaging 13.2 points per game. His 51.3 percent shooting ranked 11th in the region and second on the team behind Jakoye Pinson’s 51.4 percent.

Barney said Henry did “a great job bringing leadership to the team. He’s a leader on and off the court. He gets the players where they’re supposed to be.”

The Jaguars featured balanced scoring. Henry was followed by Pinson (12.2 points per game), Sean Buffen (11.6) and Quintavious Virgil (10.6). Buffen and Virgil, both freshmen, should return for the 2013-14 season.

Read more about Jaguar men’s basketball.