ECAC Announces DI Men's Basketball All-Stars and Major Award Selections
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced its 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball All-ECAC Team and Major Award Winners.
Hofstra University’s Justin Wright-Foreman claims Player of the Year while RJ Cole from Howard University takes home Rookie of the Year. Steve Donahue from the University of Pennsylvania rounds out the men’s major awards with Coach of the Year.
Wright-Foreman, who was also named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year, and First Team All-CAA, is Hofstra's fourth CAA Player of the Year since the Pride joined the conference in the 2001-02 season. Wright-Foreman averaged 24.2 points per game during the regular season, while also adding 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest. He scored in double figures in 52 straight games, which ranks as the nation's fourth-longest streak, and has topped the 30-point plateau seven times this season and 11 times in his career. In CAA play alone he had three games of at least 35 points, including 39 against Elon, which ranks as the eighth-most in a game in program history. Wright-Foreman has already poured in 1,350 points in his career and currently ranks 14th on the all-time Hofstra scoring chart.
Cole was also selected as MEAC Rookie of the Year after winning the conference's weekly honor a record-setting 13 times. Nationally, the New Jersey native ranks sixth in scoring (23.7) while among the MEAC leaders in assists (6.1), steals (1.7), and minutes (38.0). Cole has scored double figures in every game this season while recording 24 20-point performances. He has also registered five 30-point games and a 40-point performance, which he is one of four freshmen in the nation to produce a 40-point game this year.
Donahue has overseen a tremendous turnaround in his third season at the University of Pennsylvania, culminating with the Quakers winning a share of their 26th Ivy League title. Penn went 12-2 in the Ivies this season to earn its first championship since the 2006-07 season. This is Donahue's first Ivy title at Penn, but his fourth overall as a head coach in the League as he won three-consecutive championships with Cornell from 2008-10. He also was an assistant coach for six Ivy title-winning teams at Penn from 1991-2000. Recently, Donahue became just the seventh coach in Ivy League history to win 100 conference games; he has 78 wins as Cornell coach and 24 so far at Penn.
ECAC Division I Men’s Basketball Major Awards and All-ECAC Selections
Player of the Year
Justin Wright-Foreman – Hofstra University, Jr.
Rookie of the Year
RJ Cole – Howard University, Fr.
Coach of the Year
Steve Donahue, University of Pennsylvania
All-ECAC First Team
Jairus Lyles – University of Maryland Baltimore County, GS
Shamorie Ponds – St. John’s University, So.
Justin Wright-Foreman – Hofstra University, Jr.
Tyler Nelson – Fairfield University, Sr.
Zach Thomas – Bucknell University, Sr.
All-ECAC Second Team*
Tyus Battle – Syracuse University, So.
Jerome Robinson – Boston College, Jr.
Ky Bowman – Boston College, So.
Desi Rodriguez – Seton Hall, Sr.
Angel Delgado – Seton Hall, Sr.
AJ Brodeur – University of Pennsylvania, So.
Khalil Dukes – Niagara University, Sr.
Junior Robinson – Mount St. Mary’s, Sr.
Nana Foulland – Bucknell University, Sr.
*additional players added due to ties in voting
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Established in 1938, the ECAC is the nation's largest Conference, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri. The ECAC hosts numerous championships in men's and women's sports across Divisions I, II and III, offering opportunities for thousands of student-athletes. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.
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