2023 MBWA AWARDS MEN'S DIVISION I All-Met Men's Teams Revealed; Anderson's Amazing Run Nets Coach of the Year; Haggerty Announcement Thursday

4/26/2023 8:30:00 AM

By: Chuck Stogel, MBWA, 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com

NEW YORK (April 26, 2023) – Tobin Anderson, who recently left Fairleigh Dickinson University for Iona University, was named the Peter A. Carlesimo collegiate Coach of the Year along with the 2022-23 All-Met men’s Division I teams as announced Wednesday by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association.

A.J. Storr of St. John’s University was selected Rookie of the Year.

The winner of the Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award, presented annually since 1936 by the MBWA to the area’s Division I men’s Player of the Year, will be announced Thursday morning, April 27.

The All-Met First Team: Walter Clayton Jr., Iona; Aaron Estrada, Hofstra; Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers; Darius Quisenberry, Fordham; Demetre Roberts, Fairleigh Dickinson; Joel Soriano, St. John’s.

The All-Met Second Team: Patrick Gardner, Marist; Daniss Jenkins and Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona; Khalid Moore, Fordham; Dwight Murray Jr., Rider; Tyrese Samuel, Seton Hall; Tyler Thomas, Hofstra.

The All-Met Third Team: Posh Alexander, St. John’s; Nico Galette, Sacred Heart; Caleb McConnell, Rutgers; Ant Nelson, Manhattan; Jalen Rucker, Army West Point; Grant Singleton, Fairleigh Dickinson.

Being named All-Met is unique in that there are 21 colleges and universities and more than 300 men’s players under the MBWA Division I umbrella.

The 2022-23 All-Met teams will be honored at the 90th MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner on Thursday, April 27, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY. The Haggerty dinner is the longest running, media-managed college basketball awards program in the United States. 1186

Anderson has brought success to whatever school he has served as men’s head basketball coach, from Division III Clarkson and Hamilton, to Division II St. Thomas Aquinas and, in a single season of magic and miracles, to Fairleigh Dickinson.

His FDU team, after going 4-22 the year before with just 13 total wins in the two seasons prior to his arrival, posted 21 wins in 2022-23 (21-16, 10-6 NEC). Entering the NCAA Tournament as NEC runnerup to Merrimack (which is on "probation" as a recent Division I upgrade and thus ineligible for the NCAAs), the No. 16-seeded Knights knocked off Texas Southern in the NCAA First Four and then shocked No. 1 seeded Purdue in the First Round to become the first NEC team to reach the Round of 32.

Selected as head coach of the East team in the NABC Division I Reese’s All-Star Game in Houston, TX, Anderson --- who moved across the river after the season to take the head coaching reins at Iona --- is no stranger to coach of the year accolades, having raked in five such MBWA Division II honors while at STAC (2015-16-17-21-22). His combined Division I and II head coaching record is a lofty 230-78 (.747 W-L pct) and his overall career record across 22 seasons is 415-207 (.667 W-L pct).

A native of Truro, Iowa, with a Bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan and a Master’s from Florida State, Anderson and his wife, Jodi, live in Blauvelt, NY, and have two children, Bryce and Alexa. 1182

A 6-6 freshman guard from Rockford, IL, Storr was a key contributor for the Red Storm (18-15, 7-13 (BEC) this past season, averaging 8.8 points and shooting 43.4% from the field in 33 appearances with 17 starts. He also buried 38 3-pointers, which were the third-most on the team.

After coming off the bench through SJU’s first five league games, Storr --- who was named to the 2023 Big East All-Freshman team --- averaged 12.0 points per outing in his 15 conference starts. One of his biggest buckets came on Jan. 29 at Madison Square Garden when he buried the game-winning 3-pointer with just seconds remaining to edge Georgetown 75-73.

The Met Writers’ Peter A. Carlesimo Coach of the Year award is named in memory of the longtime athletic director at Fordham University and former executive director of the National Invitation Tournament.

The Haggerty Awards dinner on Thursday is to be livestreamed via the MBWA website. Here is the link: 90th MBWA Haggerty Awards Dinner

For a list of previous Men's Division I Awards:
Year-by-Year Haggerty Award Winners Bios • Coaches of the Year
• Rookies of the Year • List of Haggerty Award Winners

SUMMARY
NEW YORK (April 26, 2023) – The 2022-23 All-Met Division I men’s college basketball team announced Wednesday by the Met Basketball Writers Association.

FIRST TEAM
Walter Clayton Jr., Iona • 6-2, So., G, Lake Wales, FL
Aaron Estrada, Hofstra • 6-3, Sr., G, Woodbury, NJ
Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers • 6-11, Jr., C, Benin City, Nigeria 1184

Darius Quisenberry, Fordham • 6-2, Gr., G, Springfield, OH
Demetre Roberts, Fairleigh Dickinson • 5-8, Gr., G, Mount Vernon, NY
Joel Soriano, St. John’s • 6-11, Sr., C, Yonkers, NY

SECOND TEAM
Patrick Gardner, Marist • 6-11, Sr., C/F, Merrick, NY
Daniss Jenkins, Iona • 6-3, Jr., G, Dallas, TX
Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona • 6-9, Jr., F, Benin City, Nigeria
Khalid Moore, Fordham • 6-7, Gr, F, Elmont, NY
Dwight Murray Jr., Rider • 6-0, Sr., G, Austell, GA
Tyrese Samuel, Seton Hall • 6-10, Sr., C/F, Montreal, Quebec
Tyler Thomas, Hofstra • 6-3, Sr., G, New Haven, CT    1183

THIRD TEAM
Posh Alexander, St. John’s • 6-0, Jr., G, Brooklyn, NY
Nico Galette, Sacred Heart • 6-6, Jr., F, Rahway, NJ
Caleb McConnell, Rutgers • 6-7, Gr., G, Jacksonville, FL
Ant Nelson, Manhattan • 6-4, Gr., G, New York, NY
Jalen Rucker, Army West Point • 5-10, Jr., G. Baltimore, MD
Grant Singleton, Fairleigh Dickinson • 5-9, Gr, G. Sumter, SC

Peter A. Carlesimo Coach of the Year: Tobin Anderson, Fairleigh Dickinson
Rookie of the Year: A.J. Storr, St. John’s, 6-6, Fr., G, Rockford, IL

--- www.metbasketballwriters.org ---

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