The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a pre-NBA Draft Combine tournament where the country’s best seniors compete in front of professional scouts, will have a familiar face as former Madison Central star and Eastern Kentucky University’s Isaiah Cozart will participate in the festivities this year.
The 70th Annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will be held April 17-20 at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. The P.I.T. invites 64 seniors from across the nation. There will be eight teams, of eight players each, playing a 12-game tournament over four days.
Cozart was a finalist for the 2024 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball, and a finalist for the 2024 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top defensive player in NCAA Division I college basketball.
He garnered a host of other awards, including being the first player in conference history to be chosen as the ASUN Conference Player of the Year and ASUN Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. He was the unanimous choice for top defensive player. Cozart was picked First Team All-ASUN by league head coaches and All-District III First Team by the NABC. NABC’s District III includes all teams in the ASUN Conference and the Big South Conference.
The senior center from Richmond, Kentucky averaged 15.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.87 blocks per game while shooting 65 percent from the field this season. Cozart led the ASUN in rebounding, offensive rebounding (4.10), defensive rebounding (5.93), double-doubles (14) and blocks (116). He was second in field goal percentage and ninth in scoring. Cozart led the NCAA in blocks and blocks per game while ranking fifth in offensive rebounds, sixth in field goal percentage, 17th in rebounding and 26th in double-doubles.
On Nov. 27 against Troy, Cozart recorded EKU’s first-ever triple double, finishing with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks.
The numbers speak for themselves as Cozart set new program records for blocks in a game (11), blocks in a season, blocks per game in a season, career blocks (210) and career blocks per game (3.13). It is also just the 25th time in program history that a player has averaged a double-double during a season, and only the sixth time in EKU history a player eclipsed 400 points and 300 rebounds in the same season.
Photo courtesy EKU Sports
