Staten Island, NY -- Former Wagner College Head Men's Basketball Coach Dan Hurley was named the 2012 All-Metropolitan (MET) Basketball Writers Association Co-Coach of the Year along with Manhattan’s Steve Masiello. Hurley will be honored at the 79th annual NIT/MBWA Awards Dinner, which is the oldest such awards’ program in the United States, tonight at 6:00 pm at the Westchester Marriott.
Hurley is the first Wagner coach to be honored with the Metropolitan Area’s biggest coaching honor after leading the Seahawks to a school-record 25 victories, which matched Iona and LIU Brooklyn for the most wins by a metropolitan team this season.
Included in the Green & White’s record-setting season was an upset 59-54 victory over No. 15 Pitt at the Peterson Events Center on December 23, 2011. The win, was Wagner’s first over a ranked team since besting No. 15 Alabama back on November 24, 1978 and the first-ever by a Northeast Conference (NEC) school against the Panthers, which had been 70-0, all-time, against the 12-team league.
"The biggest reason I'm getting this award is because of the high quality of the players we had at Wagner," said Hurley. "They deserve the recognition after an outstanding season."
Also slated to be honored at the awards’ dinner is Wagner College Athletic Director Walt Hameline, who will receive the 2012 MBWA Distinguished Service Award. The award is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to college basketball. Click HERE for the entire release
Iona senior Scott Machado was the recipient of the Haggerty Award, which is awarded the area’s Player of the Year while St. John’s freshman Moe Harkless was named the Rookie of the Year.
FIRST TEAM: Scott Machado, Iona, 6-1, Sr., G, Queens, NY; Mike Glover, Iona, 6-7, Sr., F, Bronx, NY; Moe Harkless, St. John’s, 6-8, Fr., G-F, Queens, NY; Julian Boyd, LIU, 6-7, Jr., F, San Antonio, TX; Jordan Theodore, Seton Hall, 6-0, Jr., G, Englewood, NJ; Herb Pope, Seton Hall, 6-8, Sr., F, Aliquippa, PA
SECOND TEAM: Chris Gaston, Fordham, 6-7, Jr., F, Union City, NJ; Rakim Sanders, Fairfield, 6-5, Sr., F, Pawtucket, RI; George Beamon, Manhattan, 6-4, Jr., G-F, Roslyn, NY; Jamal Olasewere, LIU, 6-7, Jr., F, Silver Spring, MD; D’Angelo Harrison, St. John’s, 6-3, Fr., G, Missouri City, TX; Mike Moore, Hofstra, 6-5, Sr., G, New Haven, CT
THIRD TEAM: Brian Barbour, Columbia, 6-1, Jr., G, Alamo, CA.; Lamont Jones, Iona, 6-0, Jr, G, Harlem, NY; Isaiah Wilkerson, NJIT, 6-3, Sr., F, Staten Island, NY; Eli Carter, Rutgers, 6-2, Fr., G, Paterson, NJ; Elia Ellis, Army, 6-6, Jr., F, Houston, TX
Co-Coaches Of The Year: Danny Hurley, Wagner; Steve Masiello, Manhattan.
Haggerty Award Player Of The Year: Scott Machado, Iona
Rookie Of The Year: Moe Harkless, St. John’s