NEW YORK (Feb. 10, 2015) ---
Jalen Cannon of St. Francis and
Darian Hooker of NYIT have been named Men’s Division I and Divisions II-III Players of the Week, respectively, by the Met Basketball Writers Assn. The designations, for games played Feb. 2-8, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 6-6 senior from Allentown, Pa., Cannon --- who also was named the Northeast Conference player of the week --- enjoyed a record-setting stretch in leading the Terriers (16-9) to two road victories as the power forward became the NEC’s all-time leader in rebounds at 1,039 and counting, surpassing Quinnipiac's Justin Rutty. Cannon, who averaged 32.0 points and 12.0 rebounds on the week, and also was named the Lou Henson Division I Mid-Major National Player of the Week by collegeinsider.com, torched Central Connecticut State for a career-high 35 points and followed that up with 29 points at Wagner.
Cannon scored 28 second-half points to lead the Terriers to a 90-81 come-from-behind victory over Central Connecticut. In the next game, he outscored host Wagner 16-10 by himself over the first 12:36 of the final half in a 66-51 triumph. In total for the week, Cannon converted 68% percent (25-of-37) of his field goal attempts, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc.
The SFC star has amassed 1,558 career points and is just 105 shy of St. Francis Brooklyn’s all-time leader Ricky Cadell (2007-2011). Cannon, tops in the NEC with 14 double-doubles this season, is the NCAA’s active leader in rebounds. He is averaging an NEC-high 9.9 rpg. and is fourth in scoring at 16.1 ppg.
A 6-1 senior guard from Washington, D.C., Hooker --- who also was named East Coast Conference player of the week and was tabbed as Met Player of the Week for the second time this season --- posted back-to-back 40-plus scoring performances in a 1-1 week for the Bears (9-12). He also averaged 7.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
Hooker first registered 40 points, along with eight assists, in an 86-85 home loss to Dowling. He then rifled a career-high 43 points in a 114-103 overtime road win over Bridgeport, to go with five rebounds, four steals and seven assists. The 43 points ranks third all-time on NYIT’s list of individual points scored in a single game.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week:
Emmy Andujar, Manhattan; Marcus Gilbert, Fairfield; Juan’-ya Green, Hofstra; David Laury, Iona; Damon Lynn, NJIT; Sir-Dominic Pointer, St. John’s.
Players receiving MBWA Men’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week:
Neville Joseph, NJCU; J.R. Pringley, Felician; Nick Smith, Dominican; Chaz Watler, STAC; James Zuccaro, Mount St. Vincent.
Previous MBWA 2014-15 Men’s Players of the Week: Dec. 9, D’Angelo Harrison, St. John’s; Dec. 16, Granville Gittens, Baruch, D’Angelo Harrison, St. John’s (co-winners); Dec. 23, Darien Davis, Dowling; Jan. 13, Isaiah Williams, Iona, Div. I . . . Lorenzo Williams, Brooklyn, Divs. II-III; Jan. 20, Marcus Burton, Wagner, Div. I . . . Granville Gittens, Baruch, Divs. II-III; Jan. 27, Sir’Dominic Pointer, St. John’s, Div. I . . . Hakeem Harris, NYU, and Darian Hooker, NYIT (co-winners), Divs. II-III; Feb. 3, Chavaughn Lewis, Marist, Div. I . . . Nick Smith, Dominican, Divs. II-III.
--- www.metbasketballwriters.org ---