|
Montclair
State University senior forward Gian Paul Gonzalez has been named the New
Jersey Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year for the
2005-06 season.
A three-time all-conference selection, Gonzalez currently leads the NJAC
and ranks fourth In NCAA Division III in scoring with an average of 27.0
points per game. A four-time NJAC Player of the Week selection, he also
currently ranks first in minutes played per game (37.61), second in free
throw percentage (.883), third in field goal percentage (.573), and fourth
in rebounding (8.9 per game). In addition to his NJAC Player of the Year
honor, Gonzalez was recently named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy,
awarded to an Outstanding Division III player for excellence in
basketball, academics and community service.
Rutgers University-Newark freshman guard Chadd Barnes and Rutgers
University-Camden freshman guard Wayne Smalls were named conference
Co-Rookies of the Year.
A two-time NJAC Rookie of the Week selection, Barnes currently ranks 20th
in the league in scoring with an average of 11.9 points per game. In
addition, he ranks 12th in the conference in three-point field
goals made per game (1.59), and 15th in three-point field goal
percentage (.328).
Smalls was selected as the NJAC Rookie of the Week seven times during the
season. He currently ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (17.5 per
game), third in free throw percentage (.876), seventh in three-point field
goals made per game (1.96), eighth in minutes played (32.54 per game), and
12th in steals (1.63).
Rutgers University-Newark senior guard Justin Carter was named the NJAC
Defensive Player of the Year. Currently 12th in the NJAC in
scoring with an average of 13.6 points per game, he also statistically
ranks in the league’s Top 10 in field goal percentage (.517), assists
(3.30), free throw percentage (.770), and assist-to-turnover ration
(1.27). Defensively, Carter is a main contributor to a Scarlet Raider unit
that ranks second in the NJAC in scoring defense (61.6) and third in the
conference in field goal percentage defense (.411).
The College of New Jersey head coach John Castaldo was named NJAC Coach of
the Year by his peers after guiding the Lions to a 17-9 overall record and
an 11-7 conference mark. Picked to finish ninth in the coaches’ preseason
poll, he guided TCNJ to a fourth-place finish and a berth in the NJAC
Tournament. In 13 seasons at the helm of the Lion program, Castaldo has
compiled a career mark of 188-135.
2005-06 NJAC MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
|