Click Here For Release (PDF)
Click Here For List of Award Winners (PDF)
Somerset, NJ -- Awards season has arrived, meaning the time has come to hand out some 2021-22 Northeast Conference (NEC) logo emblazoned hardware to the league’s top ballers.
And headlining the list of 2021-22 NEC men’s basketball elite is the King of Staten Island himself.
Wagner graduate senior guard
Alex Morales (Paterson, NJ/Mainland Regional (Prince George’s CC)) etched himself into the recordbook by repeating as the NEC Player of the Year. In doing so, he became just the fourth player in conference history to win the coveted award twice, joining LIU’s Carey Scurry (1983-84 and 1984-85), Marist’s Rik Smits (1986-87 and 1987-88) and LIU’s Charles Jones (1996-97 and 1997-98).
But that wasn’t all for the Wagner two-way star.
Morales pulled off the rare double when he was also voted the NEC Defensive Player of the Year. In doing so, he joined CCSU’s Rick Mickens (1999-00) as the lone players in conference annals to capture dual honors.
A pair of the NEC’s elite bigs also secured major awards.
Head coaches tabbed FDU freshman forward
Anquan Hill (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) as the NEC Rookie of the Year and Saint Francis U redshirt sophomore forward
Josh Cohen (Lincroft, NJ/CBA) was named the NEC’s Most Improved Player.
After guiding Bryant to its first-ever NEC regular season title, Bryant’s
Jared Grasso was voted by his peers as the Jim Phelan Coach of the Year.
The honorees were announced this afternoon on an off-day during the 2022 NEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, which began with opening round play on Monday and continues with quarterfinal round action on Wednesday at campus sites.
Last season Morales joined Wagner legends and NEC Hall of Famers Terrance Bailey (1985-86) and Jermaine Hall (2002-03), as NEC Player of the Year honorees. This year he added to his own legend. Competing at an elite level in all facets of the game, Morales thrived as a distributor, on the glass, as a disruptive defensive presence, off the dribble and as a finisher at all levels. Building around his unique skill set, Wagner ripped off 14 straight wins at one point on its way to tying a school record with 15 conference victories. In doing so, the Seahawks reached as high as 13th in the mid-major national rankings. A five-time NEC Player of the Week who scored his 1,000th career point earlier this month, Morales is the lone NEC competitor who ranks in the top-10 in scoring (18.5, third), rebounding (7.8, third), assists (3.7, sixth), steals (1.9, third) and FG percentage (.510, ninth). He is the only player in the nation this season averaging at least 18.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.5 apg and 1.5 spg. In three years on Grymes Hill, Morales has amassed 1,141 points, 486 rebounds and 256 assists. With 14 more boards, the Newark, NJ native and graduate student will become the 13th player in NEC history to compile 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists. Morales is a two-time All-NEC first team award winner.
No school in league history has won more NEC Defensive Player of the Year awards than Wagner with Morales being the latest addition to the program’s all-time list of elite defenders. A pesky on-the-ball presence, he used his elite defensive instincts and 6’6” frame to his advantage as one of the key deterrents on a swarming unit that stands among the best in the league. The Seahawks are currently ranked second in the league in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and steals, and first in turnovers forced and three-point defensive percentage. Individually, Morales ranks third on the circuit in steals (1.9) and eighth in steal rate (2.9). He joined former Seahawk defensive stalwarts Kenneth Ortiz (3x winner in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14), DeEarnest McLemore (2004-05), Nigel Wyatte (2003-04) and Courtney Pritchard (2001-02) as winners of this award.
Emerging from an outstanding group of MIP candidates, Cohen developed into a full-fledged offensive force for the Red Flash over the course of his sophomore season. Following a promising freshman campaign that saw him bring instant offense off the bench, Cohen saw his minutes steadily increase throughout the year as he developed into one of the most efficient and capable bigs in the league. With pristine footwork and a soft touch around the rim, he raised his scoring average from 5.7 ppg a year ago to 12.9 ppg in 2021-22, a figure that ranks him 14th in the NEC. The Lincroft, NJ, product enters the postseason as the second most accurate shooter in the conference at 57.5 percent, and his 7.0 rpg ranks him tenth. Cohen, who earned his first NEC Player of the Week award back in November, followed in the footsteps of fellow SFU Most Improved Player winners Andre Wolford (2017-18), Earl Brown (2012-13) and Scott Eatherton (2011-12).
Considering all the elite talent that has come through the program, Hill is surprisingly the first NEC Rookie of the Year honoree for FDU since all-time great Rahshon Turner snagged the award back in the 1994-95 season. And like Turner, the Philly native is a supremely skilled forward and rim runner who knows his way around the paint. At a bouncy 6’9” and with stretch four capabilities, Hill came on strong during league play where he averaged 10.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.9 bpg and shot 50.4 percent from the floor. The three-time NEC Rookie of the Week started the last 12 games of the year for the Knights and produced seven double-digit scoring games during that stretch. On the year, he supplied FDU with 7.7 ppg, a team-high 5.2 rpg and 23 blocks. NEC Hall of Famer Desi Wilson also claimed NEC Rookie of the Year honors for the Knights during the 1988-89 season.
In just four short years, Grasso has built the Bryant program into an NEC powerhouse. It started in his very first season when the Bulldogs more than tripled their win total and culminated this past Saturday in Smithfield as the Black & Gold downed fellow contender Wagner to clinch the first NEC regular season title in school annals to highlight a stellar 16-2 campaign. The 16 conference wins established a school record, and with a 19-9 overall mark, the Bulldogs are one win away from the first 20-win season in its DI history. Sporting the NEC’s top ranked offense (83.0 ppg in league play), the nation’s leading scorer in Peter Kiss and the nation’s top-ranked scoring duo in Kiss and Charles Pride, Grasso’s frenetic, freewheeling offense has both captured the imagination of Bulldog fans and made the Bulldogs nearly impossible to defend. Bryant is now 26-6 against NEC rivals overall and 16-0 at home over the last two seasons. And with home court advantage throughout the playoffs, the top-seeded Bulldogs have an opportunity to capture the program’s first NEC crown in their own house. Tim O’Shea previously won this award for the Bulldogs in 2012-13.
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
This year’s All-NEC list features seven repeat honorees, including a pair of back-to-back first teamers in Morales and Bryant senior
Peter Kiss (New York, NY/Notre Dame Prep (Rutgers/Quinnipiac)).
LIU graduate student senior forward
Ty Flowers (Waterbury, CT/Sacred Heart (UMass)) became just the third four-time All-NEC honoree in league history, joining NEC Hall of Famer Chris McGuthrie, who starred at the Mount from 1992-96, and Saint Francis U legend Keith Braxton, who competed from 2016-19 and is the only NEC player to register 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career. A third team pick back in 2018-19, he twice copped second team accolades before his elevation to first team status this season. Flowers currently ranks among leaders in virtually every conceivable category, including scoring (19.0, second), made three-pointers (3.0, second), blocks (1.6, fourth), rebounding (7.7, fifth), three-point percentage (.393, sixth), steals (1.4, tenth), free throw percentage (.747, tenth) and assists (3.2, 11th). On the NEC all-time chart, Flowers ranks 27th in scoring (1,726), 15th in rebounding and 19th in three-pointers (244). He is also the first DI player over the last 30 years to accumulate 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, 250 assists, 200 three-pointers, 150 blocks and 150 steals over the course of his career.
Wagner placed four players on All-NEC teams, a first in the 41-year history of the league. Joining Morales were fellow grad students guards
Elijah Ford (Newark, NJ/Weequahic (Barton CC)) and
Will Martinez (Bronx, NY/Wings Academy (Monroe College)) and redshirt senior forward
Raekwon Rogers (Little Rock, AR/Little Rock Central (Henderson State)). Ford, who was a first teamer a year ago, was voted to the third team, while Martinez and Rogers both earned second team plaudits.
Bryant boasts two All-NEC first team picks for the first time ever. As noted, Kiss ranks first nationally in scoring at 25.1 ppg and Pride is fourth in the league with 17.8 ppg. Their combined 42.8 ppg is the highest by an NEC in scoring duo since LIU’s Charles Jones and Mike Campbell combined to average 48.7 ppg in 1997-98. If Kiss finishes atop the national leaderboard in scoring, he will join Jones (a two-time scoring champ in 1996-97 and 1997-98) and Wagner’s Terrance Bailey (1985-86) as NEC players who have achieved the rare feat. Kiss was a first team All-NEC performer last season. This marks Pride’s first All-Conference honor.
High flying LIU senior forward
Eral Penn (Brooklyn, NY/St. Francis Academy (MD)) repeated as an All-NEC first team award recipient. Penn is fifth on the circuit in scoring (17.4) and sixth in rebounding (7.5).
LIU has landed at least one player on the All-NEC first team in each of the last seven seasons and 13 of the last 14 years.
Merrimack junior forward
Jordan Minor (Kingston, MA/Brimmer and May) and Sacred Heart junior forward
Tyler Thomas (Amity, CT/Amity Regional (Williston Northampton)) claimed All-NEC honors for the second year running. Minor, who leads the league with 13 double-doubles, earned a promotion from the third team to the second team, while Thomas - last year’s NEC MIP - added a third team accolade to his second team honor.
The last time Mount St. Mary’s landed three NEC all-stars was way back in 1994-95 when Chris McGuthrie, Riley Inge and Michael Watson led the Mount its first conference title. This season, the Mountaineers were represented by dynamic junior guard
Jalen Benjamin (Raleigh, NC/Meadowcreek (GA) (UAB)) on the second team, along with multi-faceted senior forward
Mezie Offurum (Germantown, MD/Georgetown Prep (GWU)) and redshirt senior big
Nana Opoku (Woodbridge, VA/Potomac) on the third team. Opoku was the 2020-21 NEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Crafty SHU senior guard
Aaron Clarke’s (Parsippany, NJ/Pope John) steady improvement over the course of his four-year career landed him his first all-NEC recognition with his selection to the third team. Posting 16.2 ppg and 4.0 apg, he ranks seventh and third, respectively, in the NEC.
St. Francis Brooklyn grad student
Michael Cubbage (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township (Marist)) was a welcome addition to the Terriers this season. The athletic off-guard ranks second in the conference with 1.9 spg and paces SFBK with 13.6 ppg.
This year’s crop of NEC all-stars are an experienced bunch with eight of the 15 honorees either graduate students or redshirt seniors.
An underclassmen failed to make an All-NEC team for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
How bright is the future at FDU? The Knights became the first team in conference history to sport a trio of All-NEC rookies. Along with Hill, the Burgundy and Blue were repped by guards
Oscar Berry (Melbourne, Australia/IMG Academy) and
Sébastien Lamaute (Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, Canada/Brébeuf), a pair of long range snipers.
CCSU freshman forward
Andre Snoddy (Melville, NY/St. Thomas More) led the conference with six NEC Rookie of the Week honors this season. He averages 8.0 ppg, and his 7.0 rpg ranks eighth in the league.
Following DeLonnie Hunt’s selection as NEC Rookie of the Year last season, freshman running mate
Zaire Williams (Brooklyn, NY/Eagle Academy) picked up All-Rookie honors, adding to Wagner’s major awards haul.
2021-22 Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball Award Winners