LIU star Jamal Olasewere selected Northeast Conference men’s basketball Player of the Year
Somerset, NJ — With March Madness upon us, that means it’s time to honor the best-of-the-best in Northeast Conference (NEC) men’s hoops. On top of the list is LIU senior forward Jamal Olasewere (Silver Spring, MD/Springbrook), who was a near unanimous selection as NEC Player of the Year in a vote conducted by league head coaches.
NEC Rookie of the Year honors went to Mount St. Mary’s freshman guard Shivaughn Wiggins (Charlotte, NC/North Mecklenberg), while Wagner junior guard Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ/Science Park (Southern Mississippi)) claimed the NEC Defensive Player of the Year award for the second straight season. Saint Francis University sophomore forward Earl Brown (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) was tabbed the NEC’s Most Improved Player and Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honors went to Bryant’s Tim O’Shea.
The honorees were announced this morning as a prelude to the 2013 NEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, which begins on Wednesday with quarterfinal play at four campus sites.
For Olasewere, it marks the highest honor of a star-studded career in Brooklyn that includes two NEC Tournament titles and a pair of first team All-NEC accolades. He becomes LIU Brooklyn’s seventh NEC Player of the Year award winner and second straight, following in the footsteps of teammate Julian Boyd, the 2011-12 league MVP. Olasewere’s combination of strength, agility and lightening quick first step has made him a nightmare matchup for opposing coaches. Couple that with the 6’7” forward’s ability to draw contact – he’s gone to the line more than any other player in the nation this season – and you have a near unstoppable inside-outside force for the high-scoring Blackbirds. Olasewere currently ranks third in the conference in scoring (19.2), fourth in rebounding (8.4) and 10th in field goal percentage (.511). The Silver Spring, MD native has racked up 1,804 points and 925 rebounds over the course of his career to rank 13th and eighth, respectively, on the NEC’s all-time chart in each category. Olasewere was a three-time Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week in 2012-13 and is a finalist for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year award. Along with the aforementioned Boyd, Carey Scurry (1983-84, 1984-85), Joe Griffin (1994-95) and Charles Jones (1996-97, 1997-98) preceded Olasewere as NEC Player of the Year honorees for the Blackbirds, who will look to make history over the next week as the first NEC team to win three straight championships.