Our NEC Midseason Awards

With most of the NEC teams having 15-16 games in the books, John and I felt it was a perfect time to unveil our NEC midseason awards. Selecting players for this honorable distinction wasn’t an easy task, given all of the parity throughout the conference. Nevertheless, we each listed our individual award winners, along with our first and second all-conference teams. Here we go.

Ryan’s All-NEC Teams

All-NEC First Team:
Jason Brickman, LIU Brooklyn
Kyle Vinales, Central Connecticut
Jamal Olasewere, LIU Brooklyn
Kinu Rochford, Fairleigh Dickinson
Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn

It seems strange to select two players from a 6-10 team for my first team, but Brickman and Olasewere are once again competing at a high level. Brickman has been particularly impressive, dissing out 8.3 assists per game while posting an extraordinary assist to turnover ratio of 2.5. Vinales, despite a tough four game stretch, leads the conference by a wide margin with 21.5 points per game to go along with 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game. I went back and forth between Vinales and Gibson here, but I felt Vinales has been a tad more consistent. Cannon is a no-brainer (more on him later), while Rochford has been the biggest surprise in the NEC by far. As I detailed in his profile piece, the undersized, yet bouncy Rochford currently leads the league in rebounds per game (10.1) and double doubles (eight).

All-NEC Second Team:
Frankie Dobbs, Bryant
Shane Gibson, Sacred Heart
Matt Hunter, Central Connecticut
Ike Azotam, Quinnipiac
Alex Francis, Bryant

Here’s where the controversy starts. I left the highly respected Velton Jones off the second team in favor of Frankie Dobbs because, well, he’s outplaying him! Dobbs is having a terrific senior season, possessing an offensive rating of 115.6 while posting an excellent (for a guard) effective field goal percentage of 55.7%. For as good as Jones has been, his numbers simply aren’t as good, and Dobbs is running the most prolific offense in the league. Matt Hunter has been a fantastic sidekick to Vinales, filling up the stat sheet quite nicely (17.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.7 spg). Azotam’s phenomenal rebounding (8.8 rpg) and Francis’ versatility (16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.1 apg) place them on the second team just ahead of an injured Jonathan Williams. Gibson, who’s been heating up of late, edges out Jones and the slightly more inconsistent Dyami Starks.

John’s All-NEC Teams

All-NEC First Team:
Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn
Jamal Olasewere, LIU Brooklyn
Alex Francis, Bryant
Kinu Rochford, FDU
Frankie Dobbs, Bryant

Bryant is the best team in the NEC right now, so I have no qualms about putting two Bulldogs on the first team. Jalen Cannon is the best player in the league right now. He’s a tough match-up for almost every frontcourt. Dobbs is on the first team instead of Jason Brickman because Dobbs’ team is 4-0. I guess the most controversial choice here is Alex Francis, but he’s averaging 16.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg, so are you really going to argue against having him here? My team would crush Ryan’s team by the way.

All-NEC Second Team:
Jason Brickman, LIU Brooklyn
Shane Gibson, Sacred Heart
Kyle Vinales, Central Connecticut
Kenny Ortiz, Wagner
Ike Azotam, Quinnipiac

With due respect to Mario Moody, Matt Hunter and Velton Jones, I think these are the next five players from the NEC that have played the best this season. If Jonathon Williams of Wagner had managed to stay healthy he’d be on this list, but his recent rash of injuries have dropped him down the chart. If Moody had gotten more opportunities he’d be on the second team. I can’t believe Shane Gibson is on the second team. He’s got a legitimate argument to take Dobbs’ spot on the first team, but what are you going to do? Kenny Ortiz might be a questionable decision, but he’s the best defensive player in the league (I promise) and his offense has been passable. Against LIU he looked like the NEC Player of the Year. Against SFC he looked like an average guy. I bet the actual Kenny Ortiz is somewhere in between and in a year with a lot of dispersed individual talent I thought that deserved to be recognized.

Best NEC Rookie

Ryan: E.J. Reed, LIU Brooklyn – In what’s shaping up to be a thin rookie class, Reed’s athleticism and infinite energy has stood out the most. Since Julian Boyd’s injury, the freshman has stepped up to average 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and one block per game. Once he figures out how to stay out of foul trouble, watch out! Reed, along with CCSU PF Brandon Peel and St. Francis (PA) PF Stephon Mosley, have easily elevated themselves into the NEC Rookie of the Year discussion in the early going.

John: Stephon Mosely, St. Francis (PA) – The Red Flash’s youth movement is in full swing and Mosely represents the most promising part. He’s averaging 8.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Reed has been impressive, but his foul trouble is crippling. (Though those last three Rookie of the Week awards are making it difficult to argue.) Look for Eric Fanning on Wagner to come on strong as the season continues. He’s a talented natural scorer that could contribute for the Seahawks in a big way during the second half of the season.

NEC Most Improved Player

Ryan & John: Mario Moody, Wagner – With the freakishly athletic Moody, we knew he’d rebound and defend if Bashir Mason gave him a chance, but I’m shocked by how well he’s played across the board. The sophomore’s off the ball numbers have been amazing: Moody is 37th in the nation in block rate (10.0%), 29th in offensive rebounding rate (15.4%), and 79th in defensive rebounding rate (23.2%). That is a wonderful improvement off a freshman season where he only averaged 11 minutes per game. Steve Glowiak, Kinu Rochford, and Earl Brown were also considered, yet Moody’s game changing impact around the rim is too much to ignore.

Best NEC Player

Ryan & John: Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn – Cannon has been wonderfully consistent across the board. He’s nationally ranked in KenPom’s offensive rating (125.4, 67th nationally), rebounding (9.3 rebounds/game), and effective field goal percentage (60.1%, 85th nationally). In addition, Cannon has been drawing fouls at an excellent rate, while doing a superb job of not fouling himself. His notable improvement on the offensive end is a big reason why St. Francis Brooklyn shouldn’t be overlooked as a legitimate contender in the NEC. The flashes he showed as a freshman are now terrorizing opponents on a nightly basis.

Did we overlook any potential candidates? Let us know in the comments section!