Liberty League announces 2017-18 Men's Basketball Awards
The Liberty League has announced its 2017-18 All-League award and teams for men’s basketball as voted by the league’s head coaches.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Edvinas Rupkus, Jr., Skidmore
For the second straight year, a Skidmore men’s basketball player has been selected as the Liberty League Player of the Year. This year junior Edvinas Rupkus earned the honors. The Thoroughbreds were the fifth seed in this year’s league championship with an overall record of 15-12 (9-9 Liberty League) and Rupkus helped the team advance to the championship game for the third time in four years. He averaged 23.3 points over the course of three tournament games, including a season-high 39 points in the quarterfinals. Rupkus ranked second in the league in scoring behind Union's Kevin Weckworth (22.1) and is ranked 29th nationally (22.0) in points per game. He recorded double-digits in all 27 games this season, including 54 straight. The four-time Liberty League Performer of the Week selection is also 13th among Division III in free throw percentage, hitting 152 of 184 attempts (0.826). He also had eight double-doubles on the year and scored 25 or more points eight times.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Robert Aguilera, So., RIT
RIT sophomore Robert Aguilera was selected as the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year. Aguilera and the Tigers earned the third seed in the league tournament and advanced to the Liberty League semifinals for the first time since 2014-15. He paced the league and is ranked second in Division III with 84 total blocks (3.1 per game). He was also second in the league in defensive rebounds, tallying 171 to average 6.3. He scored 304 points (11.3 per game) and was ranked fourth among league leaders in rebounds per game with 8.7.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Dan Masino, Fr., Hobart
Hobart College freshman Dan Masino was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Year. In his first year in a Statesmen uniform, he made an immediate impact as he led the team in field goal percentage (.514) and assists (80). He was also second on Hobart in rebounds as well as steals with 135 and 40 respectively. Among league leaders, he was fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), sixth in steals per game (1.5) and eighth in assists per game (3.1). He was selected as Rookie of the Week three times this season and averaged 11.8 points per game.
CO-COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Hobart, Tim Sweeney, Head Coach; Assistant Coaches Stefan Thompson, Dennis Pysnack & Sean Smiley
CO-COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Union, Chris Murphy, Head Coach; Assistant Coach Nick Ciresi
Hobart College and Union College men’s basketball coaching staffs were both selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year as voted upon by the league’s head coaches.
Hobart head coach Tim Sweeney and his assistants directed the Statesmen to the Liberty League regular season title for the first time since 2013-14 with a 16-2 league record and an overall mark of 21-5. The Statesmen boasted the league’s top offense with 80.5 points per game and four players averaged 12 or more points per game. The team was also second in scoring defense holding opponents to 69.7 points per game. They compiled a program record 15-game winning streak during league play from December through February to earn the top seed and hosting rights to the league tournament.
Predicted to finish eighth in the Liberty League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll, the Dutchmen, led by head coach Chris Murphy and assistant Nick Ciresi, exceeded expectations as they claimed their second straight Liberty League Championship. Union went 18-8 overall with a 12-6 mark in the Liberty League, earning the second seed of the league tournament. The team was tops in the league in both scoring offense and defense, ranking second (77.9) and third (69.9) respectively. The Dutchmen are in the midst of a five-game winning streak as they head into the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season by virtue of the league’s automatic bid.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM:
Colin Dougherty, Jr., G, Hobart
Tom Horvat, Jr., G, RPI
Jamal Lucas, Jr., G, Hobart
Edvinas Rupkus, Jr., G, Skidmore
Kevin Weckworth, Sr., G, Union
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM:
Robert Aguilera, So., F, RIT
Jesse Browne, Sr., G, Vassar
Marc Chasin, Sr., G, Ithaca
Matt Higgins, So., G, Clarkson
Andreas Kontopidis, Jr., F, RPI
Troy Pierre-Louis, Sr., G, RIT
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION:
Ben Crawford, Jr., F, St. Lawrence
Liam Ellis, Jr., G, Clarkson
Tucker Lescoe, So., G, Hobart
Riley Thompson, So., G, Ithaca
LIBERTY LEAGUE ALL-ROOKIE TEAM:
Pierre Coffy, G, St. Lawrence
Dan Masino, G, Hobart
Noah Meren, G, Skidmore
Justyn Rogers, G, Bard
Alijah Rue, G, Bard