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Somerset, NJ -- The 2015-16 Northeast Conference (NEC) men’s basketball season will go down as one of the most compelling in the league’s 35-year history, and with the postseason upon us, it’s time to honor those student-athletes who made the biggest impact.
 
At the center of it all is Sacred Heart sophomore guard Cane Broome (East Hartford, CT/East Hartford (St. Thomas More)), who was tabbed the unanimous NEC Player of the Year in a vote conducted by league head coaches.
 
NEC Rookie of the Year honors went to Bryant freshman forward/center Marcel Pettway (North Providence, RI/Hoosac School), while St. Francis Brooklyn senior forward Amdy Fall (New York, NY/Wings Academy) repeated as the NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Fairleigh Dickinson sophomore swingman Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, MD/Archbishop Spalding) was the recipient of the NEC Most Improved Player award, and Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honors went to Bashir Mason of NEC regular season champion Wagner.
 
The future also looks bright for the conference with six of the ten first and second team All-NEC award recipients being underclassmen and eight of the ten set to return next season. Including the third team, ten NEC all-stars are slated to be back in the fold in 2016-17.
 
The honorees were announced this morning as a prelude to the 2016 NEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, which begins on Wednesday with quarterfinal play at four campus sites.
 
Two years into his career at Sacred Heart and Broome has already cemented himself as one of the top NEC talents in recent memory as well as a rising star nationally in DI hoops. Broome became just the second sophomore in conference history to win the NEC Player of the Year award, joining NEC Hall of Famer Myron Walker, the former Robert Morris star who was tabbed for the honor back in 1991-92. He currently leads the NEC in scoring at 22.7 ppg, a figure that ranks him tenth nationally. With 659 points on the year, Broome broke an NEC sophomore scoring record that had stood for 27 years. The three-time NEC Player of the Week and former NEC All-Rookie selection lifted his numbers across the board this season, also contributing 4.8 rpg, 3.0 apg and 1.7 spg, while hitting 63 shots from three-point range and shooting .766 from the stripe. Last month Broome became the sixth sophomore in NEC history to reach 1,000 points, and with 1,122 points to his credit, he has more career points than any other sophomore in the nation and is the NEC’s leading active scorer. Broome put together a host of stellar individual performances for the Pioneers, who won seven of their last nine games to claim the #3 seed in the NEC Tournament. He has recorded four games of 30+ points and 20 games of 20+ points, both league-leading totals. In NEC play, Broome lifted his scoring average to a robust 24.4 ppg. On February 20, the East Hartford, CT native became the only player nationwide since the 2010-11 season to finish a game with at least 39 points, six rebounds and six assists without committing a single turnover. Broome is the first Sacred Heart student-athlete to be voted NEC Player of the Year.
 
Pettway made an immediate impact in the paint for Bryant this season, and a seismic one at that. Possessing a variety of post moves in his arsenal and a skilled passer for his size, Pettway was tabbed NEC Rookie of the Week on five occasions, tying for the most in the conference this season. In his introduction to NEC play in early January, the Providence, RI product scored 26 points in each of his first two outings and never looked back. Pettway averaged 11.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals on the year. He added eight double-doubles and shot a scorching 59.7 percent from the floor. Pettway leads all NEC freshmen and ranks eighth overall in rebounding, and is the league’s third most accurate shooter from the field heading into the postseason. Former Bryant great Alex Francis (2010-11) was also honored as the NEC Rookie of the year.
 
As second line defenders go, Fall has no equal in the NEC. With rim protection as his specialty, Fall became the fourth player in NEC history to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year. The senior forward leads the NEC and ranks 29th nationally with 2.4 blocks per game. He elevated those numbers to 3.2 bpg in NEC play, including an NEC single-game season-high eight rejections against Bryant on February 25. Fall, who hails from New York City, anchors a Terrier defense that ranks second in the NEC in scoring defense (66.8) and field goal percentage defense (.427). He has racked up 208 career blocks during his time in Brooklyn, tops among active NEC players. Akeem Bennett (2010-11) and Greg Nunn (2000-01) are former Terriers who have also been tabbed NEC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Like a number of second year players on Fairleigh Dickinson, Potts Jr. lifted his multi-dimensional game to new heights for the Knights, who improved their NEC win total by eight games this season. A key contributor as a freshman, Potts Jr. morphed into a full-fledged star in his sophomore campaign in Hackensack. He boosted his scoring average from 6.6 ppg to 14.0 ppg in 2015-16, the third biggest year-to-year jump in the conference. Potts Jr. ranks sixth in the conference in scoring and field goal accuracy (.510), eighth in made three-pointers (1.8/game) and 11th in rebounding (6.0). Equal parts high flyer in transition, off-the-dribble jump shooter and fearless rim attacker, Potts Jr. has a penchant for delivering in the clutch, most notably his game-winning three-point buzzer beater in an overtime road win over Wagner in early February. He was twice named NEC Player of the Week. Potts Jr. joined Sidney Sanders Jr. (2013-14) as FDU players to win MIP honors.
 
In his fourth year helming the Wagner program, Mason steered the Seahawks to their second-ever NEC regular season title and a guaranteed berth in the postseason for the first time since winning the 2003 NEC Tournament and appearing in the NCAA Tournament. Winner of five straight heading into the playoffs, Wagner finished two games ahead of the pack with a 13-5 NEC record. The Seahawks have also tallied 20 overall victories, the sixth 20+ win season in school history. Picked sixth by coaches in the annual preseason poll, the Green & White utilized a stifling defense to make their mark in the conference this season. A former CAA Defensive Player of the Year himself during his playing days at Drexel, Mason built the NEC’s top-ranked scoring defense (63.6) and field goal percentage defense (.406). Under his tutelage, the Seahawks held league opposition under 60 points nine times during the regular season. Mason, who was the nation’s youngest head coach (29) upon his hire back in 2012, has twice led Wagner to the NEC semifinals. He is Wagner’s third NEC Coach of the Year recipient, joining Tim Capstraw (1991-92) and Dereck Whittenburg (2002-03).
 
Broome, the NEC Player of the Year, was joined on the All-NEC first team by Saint Francis U senior forward Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, OH/Greenview), LIU Brooklyn redshirt junior forward Jerome Frink (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony (FIU)), LIU Brooklyn sophomore guard Martin Hermannsson (Reykjavik, Iceland/Reykjavik) and Robert Morris senior guard Rodney Pryor (Evanston, IL/Notre Dame Prep (Cloud County CC)).
 
By combining a blue-collar work ethic on the boards with a refined low-post game, Drinnon took a star turn in this, his senior season. Drinnon, who averaged 8.1 points and 7.8 rebounds as a junior, saw his numbers jump to 13.0 ppg and a league-leading 10.6 rpg in 2015-16. He has recorded an NEC-high 17 double-doubles, including eight in his last nine outings to close out the regular season. Drinnon was spectacular in NEC play, putting up 15.2 ppg and 11.8 rpg, while shooting 50.8 percent from the floor. He posted a pair of 20-rebound games, and with 23 points, 20 rebounds and five assists in a win over CCSU on February 6, Drinnon became one of just seven DI players since the start of the 2010 season to post a 20/20/5 game. He heads into the postseason with 950 career points, and his 782 rebounds ranks 25th on the NEC career list.
 
It took no time at all for Frink to establish himself as one of the NEC’s premier power forwards after transferring to LIU Brooklyn from Florida International. An elite post player who has the ability to step out to the three-point line, Frink was a one-man wrecking crew at times for the Blackbirds. He closed out the regular season as the NEC’s third-leading scorer (16.9) and second-leading rebounder (9.1). The Jersey City native also ranks eighth in field goal percentage (.508), tenth in steals (1.3) and sixth in blocks (1.3). A two-time NEC Player of the Week, Frink has tallied ten double-doubles and seven 20-point, 10-rebound outings.
 
Though just a sophomore, Hermannsson possesses the demeanor and reliability of a wily veteran. There is little the Icelandic product can’t do on a basketball court. Hermannson currently ranks in the NEC top-15 in no less than seven categories: scoring (16.5, fourth), field goal percentage (.462, 13th), free throw percentage (.888, second), assists (4.7, third), steals (1.8, fourth), three-point accuracy (.367, 11th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.19, first). A stellar mid-range shooter and capable finisher in traffic, Hermannsson has also gone to the line 170 times for the Blackbirds this season, the second highest total in the league. The three-time NEC Player of the Week was outstanding during LIU’s playoff drive, averaging 20.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals over his last ten regular season games. He also found himself in rarefied air on more than one occasion, bookending this dramatic stretch with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists against Sacred Heart on January 27 and 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists versus Bryant on February 27. In both contests, the former NEC All-Rookie pick did not commit a single turnover.
 
An elite scorer in his two years at Robert Morris, Pryor eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in just two seasons in Moon Township. A rare talent who is equally adept sticking step-back three-pointers and delivering thunderous dunks, Pryor can beat you in a host of ways. He enters the postseason ranked second in the NEC with 18.3 ppg and is near automatic at the free throw line with an 86.3 percent conversion rate, the third-best mark on the circuit. The 2015 NEC Tournament MVP has also made his mark on the glass this season, upping his rebounding average from 4.7 as a junior to 8.0 in his senior campaign to rank sixth in the league. Pryor recorded five double-doubles in NEC play. He battled back from an injury to finish the season strong, putting up 21.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg and 2.2 spg over his last five outings. Pryor, who hails from Evanston, IL, has amassed 1,058 career points and is the NEC’s second-leading active career scorer.
 
The All-NEC second team consisted of four sophomores and a junior. Joining Potts Jr. was teammate and classmate Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John’s College). Also earning second team honors were Wagner junior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated (San Jacinto CC)), Wagner sophomore guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) and Mount St. Mary’s sophomore guard Junior Robinson (Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance).
 
Anderson could be described as the NEC’s version of Mr. Big Shot after a host of clutch performances throughout the season for the Knights. A cat-quick guard with superb court vision, Anderson leads FDU and ranks fifth in the NEC in both scoring (14.8) and assists (3.7), and is also third in the league in steals (1.8) and seventh in free throw percentage (.819).
 
Carey was just what the doctor ordered for Wagner. A multifaceted 6’5” guard, Carey was a force in the paint and a terror in transition for the Seahawks. He registered 13 double-doubles (third in the NEC) in his first season on Grymes Hill, and that was just the start. Carey enters the postseason averaging 12.0 points, and his 9.1 rebounds per game is tied for the second-best mark in the conference. A two-time NEC Player of the Week, he has converted 50.4 percent of his shots from the field.
 
In just two seasons Henson has already established himself as one of the NEC’s most feared sharpshooters. His 41.9 percent accuracy from distance ranks second in the league, and he is third with 2.31 three-pointers per game. Henson is also the NEC’s eighth-leading point producer netting a team-high 13.5 ppg as part of a balanced Seahawk attack. In Wagner’s regular season title-clinching win last Thursday over Saint Francis U, Henson poured in 24 points.
 
Robinson made the leap from NEC All-Rookie team as a freshman to second team status in his sophomore season. One of the quickest point guards the conference has seen in quite some time, Robinson added scoring punch to his already high-level playmaking ability this season. The Mebane, NC native ranks second on the Mount with 12.6 ppg and he has hit 47 three-pointers on the year while shooting 82.7 percent from the stripe. Robinson currently sits sixth in the NEC in both free throw shooting (.827) and assists per game (3.2).

The All-NEC third team consisted solely of upperclassmen. Mount St. Mary’s junior guard BK Ashe (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate) and Central Connecticut senior forward Brandon Peel (Forestville, MD/Riverdale Baptist) joined a trio of St. Francis Brooklyn players: junior guard Yunus Hopkinson (New York, NY/Lee Academy (ME)), senior guard Tyreek Jewell (Bronx, NY/H.S. of Leadership & Public Service (Jamestown CC)) and senior forward Chris Hooper (Bronx, NY/Satellite Academy (Odessa CC)).
 
Ashe makes his second straight third team appearance for Mount St. Mary’s. He has been the Mount’s most consistent scorer on the year, averaging 13.9 ppg to rank seventh in the NEC. An outstanding athlete and fast break finisher who thrives in the Mount’s “Mayhem” system, Ashe leads the team with 52 trifectas on the year and 1.3 steals per contest. He is just 18 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career.
 
Peel ended his CCSU career on a high note, securing double-doubles in each of his last 11 games. In that span, he dominated the paint, putting up 16.6 ppg, 12.9 rpg and 1.8 bpg. On the year, Peel ranks second in the NEC with 9.1 rpg and his 16 double-doubles is just one off the league leading total. A reliable mid-range shooter, he led the Blue Devils with 11.7 ppg. Peel closed out his four years in New Britain with 958 points, and his 881 rebounds ranks 14th on the NEC’s all-time list.
 
Hopkinson has upped his profile as much as any other player in the conference with a breakout year for the Terriers. The New York City product upped his scoring output dramatically from 2.6 ppg last season to 12.0 ppg in 2015-16. The 9.4 ppg improvement is the best in the league this season. Shooting from distance with confidence - he hit 71 three-pointers and ranks fourth in the NEC with 2.3 per game - Hopkinson has reached double digits in scoring in seven straight contests heading into the postseason, averaging 19.6 ppg during the hot stretch.
 
Recognized for his defensive prowess last season, Jewell has added new elements to his offensive game while remaining one of the NEC’s stingiest on-the-ball defenders. He leads the Terriers with 12.9 ppg and improved his shooting efficiency across the board. Jewell, a high level athlete who can absorb contact and convert in traffic, has also made an impact on the boards, snaring 5.6 per game.
 
Most notable in Hooper’s skill set is his refined post game. The crafty lefty with nimble footwork can finish in any number of ways around the hoop and is reliable from mid-range as well. Hooper has converted 59.1 percent of his shot opportunities for St. Francis Brooklyn to rank fourth in the NEC. He averages 11.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg.
 
The next generation of NEC stars will come from the five-member NEC All-Rookie squad. Joining NEC Rookie of the Year Marcel Pettway of Bryant were Fairleigh Dickinson forward Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, NJ/Arthur P. Schalick), Sacred Heart guard Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, CT/St. Joseph’s (Phelps)), Central Connecticut guard Austin Nehls (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills (Cheshire Academy)) and Bryant guard Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, MA/Boston Trinity).
 
Holloway provided Fairleigh Dickinson with a much-needed interior presence. Inserted into the starting lineup early on, Holloway manned the paint like a proven veteran. With a feathery touch and good big man instincts, Holloway has contributed 9.7 ppg on 60.9 percent shooting from the field, good for second in the conference. The two-time NEC Rookie of the Week also pulled down 5.3 rpg in the regular season.
 
McKnight joined Broome to form one of the NEC’s youngest and most feared backcourts. With speed to burn and an ability to attack the rim and finish with authority, McKnight was tabbed NEC Rookie of the Week on five occasions, tying for the most in the NEC. By the end of the regular season, the Bridgeport, CT product had lifted his scoring average to 11.3 ppg to rank second on the Pioneers. He also chipped in with 5.3 rpg and 2.5 apg, and his 1.6 spg ranks sixth in the conference.
 
The old adage says that a team can never have enough good shooters and Nehls fits that bill for the Blue Devils. He ranks second in the NEC with 71 three-pointers and 2.5 trifectas per game from long range. With a smooth stroke and quick release, Nehls converted 38.2 percent from distance in his freshman season and finished second on CCSU with 11.7 ppg.
 
Zouzoua was a triple threat for Bryant during his freshman season. He can elevate and finish on the break, pop from long distance (60 three-pointers) and make teams pay at the line (84.3 percent). He averaged 19.3 points over his last eight outings to wrap the season as Bryant’s leading point producer and the NEC’s top freshman scorer with 12.8 ppg. His 60 treys ranks second among league freshmen.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.