One of the league’s most decorated pivotmen in recent years, Edwards is the centerpiece of a talented Central Connecticut State team that enters the NEC Tournament as the #1 seed riding a school record and national-best 16-game winning streak. At 6-9, 270 lbs., Edwards can dominate in the low post, stick the 15-footer or get out on the break and finish. The Baltimore native averages 15.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and shoots .505 from the floor and .756 from the free throw line. He ranks seventh in the conference in scoring, third in rebounding and blocks and 12th in field goal percentage. Edwards was named the Most Valuable Player of both the Phoenix Classic and Mohegan Sun Classic earlier this season. A three-time NEC Player of the Week, the three-time all-NEC honoree is the league’s leading active scorer (1,683 points) and rebounder (943 boards).

Monroe took the NEC by storm in his rookie season, and provided playoff bound Quinnipiac with a steady hand at point guard. He helped Quinnipiac double its victory total from last season, and his superb play down the stretch coincided with his team winning four of its last five outings entering tournament play. Monroe leads all freshman in a number of categories, including scoring (12.1 ppg), assists (4.8 apg) and three-pointers (58). A floor general who plays with a poise that belies his experience and sets him apart from most freshman guards, he amazingly leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, dishing out 3.07 assists for every turnover committed. Monroe, who calls Lanham, Maryland home, was awarded with a league-high four NEC Player of the Week selections during the regular season.

One of the league’s top point guards and skilled penetrators, Pritchard’s defensive contributions did not go unnoticed by NEC head coaches. Blessed with uncanny instincts and quick hands, he is a tremendous weapon in head coach Dereck Whittenburg’s trapping schemes. Pritchard, who ranks second in the conference in steals with 2.0 per-game, wreaks havoc defensively with his ability to play the passing lanes and strip the ball from the opposition.

Dickenman accepts Coach of the Year honors from his peers for the second time in three years after piloting Central Connecticut State to the most successful regular season in the league’s 21-year history. By adopting a suffocating defense as its calling card, the Blue Devils set an NEC single-season record with 19 conference victories, buoyed by a 16-game winning streak that has garnered national attention for the CCSU program. With 24 victories entering tournament play, the Blue Devils are in position to challenge their own NEC standard for overall wins (25) set in the team’s run to the league championship in 1999-00. Under Dickenman’s tutelage, CCSU is undefeated in 2002 (16-0), sports a perfect 10-0 mark on the road in NEC play and is ranked #16 in the College Insider Mid-Major poll.

In addition to Edwards, two of the remaining four all-NEC first team players are repeat honorees. Monmouth senior guard Rahsaan Johnson (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga) is a two-time all-NEC pick who was the league’s Player of the Year in 2000-01, while Wagner sophomore forward Jermaine Hall (Dublin, GA/Dublin) was a first team selection last season. Making their all-star debuts are Long Island senior guard Antawn Dobie (Corona, NY/Msgr. McClancy) and UMBC sophomore forward Peter Mulligan (New York, NY/St. Raymond’s).

One of the circuit’s top all-around players, Johnson has dazzled Monmouth fans with his scoring and passing ability over the last three seasons. As a senior, he will attempt to lead the Hawks to their second consecutive NEC crown, following a regular season that saw him average 19.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals. Johnson, who leads the NEC in assists and is the league’s third most prolific scorer, has accumulated 1,610 career points, third on the Monmouth career list and 26th all-time in the conference. A two-time NEC Player of the Week winner in 2001-02, the Washington, D.C. product has a well-deserved reputation for delivering in the clutch, illustrated by his selection as NEC Tournament Most Valuable Player last season.

Hall’s interior game is so prolific that opposing defensive plans are often geared entirely to thwart the 6-5 forward from Dublin, Georgia. With an innate ability to acquire the ball in scoring position on the low block, Hall has utilized a left-handed baby hook and quick moves around the hoop to lead the NEC in scoring (21.3 ppg) and rank second in field goal percentage (.608). Hall, who also averages a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game, is the nation’s fourth most accurate shooter from the field and stands 20th in scoring. The 1999-00 NEC Rookie of the Year, Hall also ranks second nationally in blocked shots (1.3 bpg) among players 6-5 and shorter. Hall is the NEC’s third leading active scorer and is positioned seventh on the Wagner career list with 1,558 points.

Over the last month of the season, Dobie lifted his already stellar game to a new level. An ultra-quick point guard with a dazzling crossover dribble and feathery jumper, the Corona, New York native kept the Blackbirds in contention for a playoff spot until the final weekend of the season by averaging 21.0 points, 5.2 assists and a league-high 2.3 steals. Dobie, who finished the regular season second in the conference in both scoring and assists, exploded for seven 30+ point games this season, the most of any player in the league. He finished his three-year career with 1,131 points, 19th all-time at the school.

Mulligan proved his fantastic rookie campaign a year ago was no fluke as UMBC’s balanced offensive attack revolved around his versatile skills. With the speed and outside shooting ability to play on the perimeter and the strength and interior skills to handle himself in the paint, Mulligan is one of the league’s toughest players to guard. He leads the Retrievers and ranks in the NEC top-15 in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg), assists (3.1 apg), free throw percentage (.801), steals (1.8 spg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1:19:1). Since Mulligan’s arrival on campus two year’s ago following an outstanding New York City prep career, UMBC has posted a 37-19 record and enters the 2002 NEC Tournament as the #3 seed.

Five new faces grace the all-NEC second team, including two representatives from NEC regular season champion Central Connecticut State. Junior guard Damian Battles (Brockton, MA/Avon) and sophomore forward Ricardo Scott (Boston, MA/Cushing Academy) represent the Blue Devils, and are joined by Quinnipiac senior center Bill Romano (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield), Sacred Heart sophomore guard Maurice Bailey (Hempstead, NY/Southside) and St. Francis (NY) senior forward Jason Morgan (Willingboro, NJ/Willingboro).

Considered one of the league’s most improved players, Battles has the ability to play either guard position and has emerged as one of the premier long range bombers in the conference. With a hard-nosed style emblematic of the team he plays on, he enters the postseason having averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest. His 56 three-point shots rank him fifth in the conference, while his .403 shooting percentage from downtown places him sixth.

There are few players in the NEC that have as much of an upside as Scott. A springy 6-5 swingman who can create his own shot, Scott delivered one of the league’s signature performances this season when he drilled seven three pointers, scored 29 points and hit the game-winning putback as CCSU rallied from a 23-point deficit to upend Monmouth in overtime on MSG Network. Scott, who has been resilient in the face of numerous injuries this season, averages 13.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

As steady as they come, Romano finally sheds his tag as an underrated player with his inclusion on the NEC all-star team this season. By combining terrific footwork with a wide array of low post maneuvers, Romano emerged as Quinnipiac’s top scoring threat. He is the league’s sixth leading scorer at 17.3 ppg, and ranks eighth in field goal percentage (.517) and 13th in rebounding (6.1 rpg). He became the first Quinnipiac player to reach the 1,000-point mark at the Division I level and is the NEC’s fifth leading active scorer with 1,392 points.

Bailey, an unheralded walk-on who transferred from Rider and did not become eligible until December, was a revelation for head coach Dave Bike and the Pioneers. The first Sacred Heart player to earn all-NEC honors, Bailey is currently fourth in the conference in scoring at 19.0 ppg, and also averages 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest. A hard-nosed penetrator who is strong in the air on his forays to the hoop, Bailey served as the catalyst in the Pioneers’ march to the playoffs by leading the team in scoring in 17 of 21 contests this season.

One of the nation’s most potent outside shooters, Morgan has set up shop beyond-the-arc with great success during his two years with the Terriers. In 2001-02, Morgan is fifth in the conference in scoring (17.3 ppg) and first in made three-pointers (3.5/game). Blessed with the ability to create space to get open looks, he led all Division I players for much of the season in three-point shots, before slipping to sixth in the most recent rankings. Morgan also contributes 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per contest for the #5 seeded Terriers.