Yesterday, the NEC announced their all-conference teams plus individual awards. Here's how things shaped out:
Player of the year: Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn
Coach of the year: Glenn Bracia, St. Francis Brooklyn
Defensive player of the year: Amdy Fall, St. Francis Brooklyn
Rookie of the year: Marcquise Reed, Robert Morris
Most improved: Matt Mobley, Central Connecticut State
NEC first team:
Brent Jones, SFC
Dyami Starks, Bryant
Marcus Burton Wagner
Earl Brown, SFU
Jalen Cannon, SFC
(all seniors)
NEC second team:
Matt Mobley, CCSU
Marcquise Reed, RMU
Rodney Pryor, RMU
Lucky Jones, RMU
Dan Garvin, Bryant
NEC third team:
Byron Ashe, Mount St. Mary's
Gerrell Martin, LIU
Evan Kelley, SHU
Greg Graves, Mount St. Mary's
Joe O' Shea, Bryant
NEC rookie team:
Marcquise Reed, RMU
Lamont Robinson, Mount St. Mary's
Martin Hermannsson, LIU
Cane Broome, SHU
Nura Zanna, LIU
Personally, I'm not crazy about the third team but understand why those guys are there. Martin and Kelley led their teams in scoring, while Ashe worked himself out of the doghouse to come back and be a big time contributor again. Personally, as I noted earlier in the week, I would have liked to see Amdy Fall and/or Brandon peel represented on the third team. I also thought the biggest snub was Sacred Heart forward DeVon Barnett.
Blind player comparison time!
Player A: 14.9 ppg in 27.5 minutes. 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals-per-game. Shooting splits: 49.7/42.4/76.1
Player B: 18.5 ppg in 37.5 minutes. 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists-per-game. Shooting splits: 37.8/34.1/91.1
Player C: 15.4 ppg in 26.1 minutes. 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists-per-game. Shooting splits: 45.6/34.1/79.4
Player A= Marcquise Reed, Player B= Dyami Starks, and just for fun Player C was Kobe Bryant's '97-98 season. My point in all this? We know that Starks got the senior treatment from the coaches around the league. At his best, Starks was a high volume shooter with medium levels of efficiency. The numbers back that up.
Some say Marcus Burton was the same way. Burton averaged 17.9 ppg this season with 40.0/32.6/81.1 splits. However, I'm willing to give Burton a little more wiggle room because of how much he's asked to do for Wagner. Realistically, he's one of maybe three guys who can stretch the floor with the three ball and has a great ability to get to the basket. He has nice balance in his game. There's not a guard on their roster with half as much skill as Burton.
With Starks, it's a little different. He didn't have to be the guy shooting 18 times a game with Joe O'Shea, Dan Garvin, and even Bosco Kostur fully capable of getting buckets. I'm just not a fan of high volume, low percentage guys. Points per game means almost nothing to me. Give me efficiency.
That's why Marcquise Reed should have been rewarded with a first team all-conference slot. He was the best, most consistent player on the second best team in the league. His shooting percentage from the field just decreased to under 50 percent after a rough patch to end the year. Still, his splits are amazing. When RMU needed someone to give them baskets, it was Reed they turned to.
NEC winners tonight: St. Francis Brooklyn (in a very tight one), Robert Morris, Mount St. Mary's and Sacred Heart.
Leave your thoughts/opinions below!
Player of the year: Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn
Coach of the year: Glenn Bracia, St. Francis Brooklyn
Defensive player of the year: Amdy Fall, St. Francis Brooklyn
Rookie of the year: Marcquise Reed, Robert Morris
Most improved: Matt Mobley, Central Connecticut State
NEC first team:
Brent Jones, SFC
Dyami Starks, Bryant
Marcus Burton Wagner
Earl Brown, SFU
Jalen Cannon, SFC
(all seniors)
NEC second team:
Matt Mobley, CCSU
Marcquise Reed, RMU
Rodney Pryor, RMU
Lucky Jones, RMU
Dan Garvin, Bryant
NEC third team:
Byron Ashe, Mount St. Mary's
Gerrell Martin, LIU
Evan Kelley, SHU
Greg Graves, Mount St. Mary's
Joe O' Shea, Bryant
NEC rookie team:
Marcquise Reed, RMU
Lamont Robinson, Mount St. Mary's
Martin Hermannsson, LIU
Cane Broome, SHU
Nura Zanna, LIU
Personally, I'm not crazy about the third team but understand why those guys are there. Martin and Kelley led their teams in scoring, while Ashe worked himself out of the doghouse to come back and be a big time contributor again. Personally, as I noted earlier in the week, I would have liked to see Amdy Fall and/or Brandon peel represented on the third team. I also thought the biggest snub was Sacred Heart forward DeVon Barnett.
Blind player comparison time!
Player A: 14.9 ppg in 27.5 minutes. 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals-per-game. Shooting splits: 49.7/42.4/76.1
Player B: 18.5 ppg in 37.5 minutes. 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists-per-game. Shooting splits: 37.8/34.1/91.1
Player C: 15.4 ppg in 26.1 minutes. 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists-per-game. Shooting splits: 45.6/34.1/79.4
Player A= Marcquise Reed, Player B= Dyami Starks, and just for fun Player C was Kobe Bryant's '97-98 season. My point in all this? We know that Starks got the senior treatment from the coaches around the league. At his best, Starks was a high volume shooter with medium levels of efficiency. The numbers back that up.
Some say Marcus Burton was the same way. Burton averaged 17.9 ppg this season with 40.0/32.6/81.1 splits. However, I'm willing to give Burton a little more wiggle room because of how much he's asked to do for Wagner. Realistically, he's one of maybe three guys who can stretch the floor with the three ball and has a great ability to get to the basket. He has nice balance in his game. There's not a guard on their roster with half as much skill as Burton.
With Starks, it's a little different. He didn't have to be the guy shooting 18 times a game with Joe O'Shea, Dan Garvin, and even Bosco Kostur fully capable of getting buckets. I'm just not a fan of high volume, low percentage guys. Points per game means almost nothing to me. Give me efficiency.
That's why Marcquise Reed should have been rewarded with a first team all-conference slot. He was the best, most consistent player on the second best team in the league. His shooting percentage from the field just decreased to under 50 percent after a rough patch to end the year. Still, his splits are amazing. When RMU needed someone to give them baskets, it was Reed they turned to.
NEC winners tonight: St. Francis Brooklyn (in a very tight one), Robert Morris, Mount St. Mary's and Sacred Heart.
Leave your thoughts/opinions below!
