MBB: Centennial Conference

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Surprised no one has mentioned this, as of yet: http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031415aab.html

That is a really big award in Division III... hat's off. He had a pretty stellar resume.

[Pat Coleman]

Surprised no one has mentioned this, as of yet: http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031415aab.html

That is a really big award in Division III... hat's off. He had a pretty stellar resume.

Uhh yeah -- I'm surprised there wasn't an embargo on that news!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

D3hoops.com All-Mid-Atlantic Region team:

Player of the Year: Gerry Wixted
Coach of the Year: Bill Nelson
Rookie of the Year: Brandon Federici

The rest of the team: http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-region/2014-15/index

[hoop master]

Congrats to George.  A very impressive award and accomplishment for a very good player.  Not to rain on the parade but write up on D3 Hoops site has inaccurate info on his accomplishments this year -- ie he did not lead league in scoring and some other inaccurate facts.... but regardless does not take away from well earned accomplishment.

[Pat Coleman]

We just re-ran the official Jostens news release ... but after the Final Four, will have time to look into it.

[Gabriel]

Congratulations to Steve Donahue (Ursinus '84) on being named HBC at the University of Pennsylvania.  Previously he was an assistant at Penn followed by 10 years as HBC at Cornell and then 4 years as HBC at Boston College.

[Reserved Seat]

Congratulations to Wixted--national POY

[Reserved Seat]

Second time recently that the CC has had the National POY

[D.B. Cooper]

Yes a well deserved honor for Wixted And Dickinson. I was somewhat disappointed that Federici didn't get recognized as national rookie of the year. I'm sure the other fellow was I fine young point guard but I hard pressed to think that he is comparable to federici. Winner had nice stats and his team got a chance for ncaa play which dips were not able to but if is like rewarding stats from the Colorado rockies as they were a much higher scoring team. Federici often had to put up despiration shots while being triple teamed, he was go to guy all the opponents geared to stop. The leading freshman scorer all divisions. Got many rebounds and assists for a guard. Near top of CC in steals and blocks. I'll note winner had notably less blocks than similarly sized of reserve Jared Wright had.
Just my 2 cents but it seems a possible overlooked amazing season.

[Pat Coleman]

They were both really good and in the end, they were the only two of the eight regional rookies of the year who received strong consideration. Either one would have been a great pick.

NCAA Tournament stats were not considered. I don't think we would make a decision based on .9 blocks per game, for what it's worth. Here's where each stood at the end of the regular season -- both of them had great seasons.

institution	nominee	min/g	fg/g	pct	3pt/g	pct	ft/g	pct	ppg	off/g	def/g	reb/g	pf/g	ast/g	to/g	a/to	stl/g	blk/g
Franklin & Marshall	Brandon Federici	33.1	6.2-14.5	43	2.5-6.3	39.3	4.4-5.2	85.1	19.3	0.7	2.5	3.3	1.9	2.5	1.7	1.5	1.3	0.9
Ohio Wesleyan	Nate Axelrod	32.4	5.0-9.9	50.4	1.9-3.9	47.6	4.4-5.2	84.4	16.3	0.4	1.8	2.3	2.5	6	1.7	3.5	1.4	0

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

He certainly was in the conversation, but just so you know... Chancie Williams of Pine Manor had 19.7 ppg as a Division III freshman and DeAngelo Russell of Ohio State had 19.3 ppg as a DI freshman... Federici finished with 19.3 - so he wasn't the top freshman in all three divisions - unfortunately, not even in Division III.

[givengo]

The Centennial should be bustin' it's collective buttons right now. Three ranked teams this season; two Sweet Sixteen Teams in Dickinson and Hopkins. Along with that, our players received the two most coveted national awards in D3 Hoops.  Gerry Wixted as National Player of the year, and George Bugarinovic receiving the Josten's trophy.  It's incredible and wonderful--and says a whole heck of a lot about not only the quality, but the character of the players in our conference.   The guys who deserved it got it. And BOTH of those guys are stellar off the court, in the classroom, and the community at large.
Congrats to Coach Nelson and his team,  Big Congrats to the Dickinson Red Devils and coaches on their second Conference championship in three years and on their third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Both teams have a lot to look forward to in the '15-16 season.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I was a big early supporter of Federici as ROY, but after getting to see him play in person a couple times, he definitely has some real weak spots.  I'm sure he'll continue to work on them and improve - there's so much potential there and he's a really mature kid to begin with.

His defense and positioning were a bit spotty at points (typical of a freshman) - he also seemed to shy away from being aggressive on offense.  He relied on shooting a bit too much this year.

Again, he's probably the #2 freshman in the country, but Axelrod certainly showed a little more completeness in his play.

It will be interesting to see who's on top in four years, as I suspect both of them will be on All-American teams in the future.

[Swat Fan #1]

Hey Reserved Seat and Gabriel! Just wanted to drop in, say hi, and thank you for being kind to a former Swarthmore player! Last night's Philly Hall of Fame induction was full of class from everyone there! Heard it was great and that everyone had a great night. Cheers!

[Reserved Seat]

Swat Fan #1, hopefully, you'll be at more games next year.