Northeast Conference 399 Campus Drive • 1st Floor • Somerset, NJ 08873 (732) 469-0440 • Fax (732) 469-0744 • www.northeastconference.org For Immediate Release March 3, 2009 Robert Morris’ Jeremy Chappell Named NEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Long Island’s Julian Boyd Voted NEC Rookie of the Year Robert Morris’ Bateko Francisco Chosen NEC Defensive Player of the Year Quinnipiac’s James Feldeine Tabbed NEC Most Improved Player Robert Morris’ Mike Rice Wins Jim Phelan Coach of the Year Honors Somerset, NJ -- Robert Morris senior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, OH/Northwest) was unanimously selected as the 2008-09 Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year in a vote conducted by league head coaches. Long Island freshman forward Julian Boyd (San Antonio, TX/William H. Taft) was named NEC Rookie of the Year, while Robert Morris senior guard Bateko Francisco (Paris, France/Fort Scott JC) was voted NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Quinnipiac junior forward James Feldeine (New York, NY/ Cardinal Hayes) was the recipient of the inaugural NEC Most Improved Player award. Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honors went to Robert Morris head coach Mike Rice for the second year in a row. The honorees were announced on a media teleconference this morning to promote the 2009 NEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, which begins on Thursday with quarterfinal play at four campus sites. Chappell follows in the footsteps of former teammate Tony Lee to make it back-to-back NEC Player of the Year award winners for the Colonials, who head into the NEC Tournament as the top seed after winning their second straight regular season crown. After sharing the offensive load with fellow all-stars Lee and A.J. Jackson the last two years, the 6’3” Chappell became the focal point of the Robert Morris attack this season and was more than up to the task. With the ability to shoot from long range, attack the rim, sweep the boards, distribute the ball to teammates and defend the perimeter, Chappell ranks in the NEC top-15 in nine different categories. The two-time Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week leads the conference and ranks 13th nationally with 2.6 steals per game. Chappell is also third in scoring (16.6 ppg), made three pointers (73, 2.4 per game) and free throw percentage (.854), eighth in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and ninth in three-point percentage (.403). The former NEC Rookie of the Year and two time all-star will also be remembered as one of the top all-around performers in the history of the league. With career totals of 1,805 points, 656 boards, 324 assists, 259 steals and 232 three-pointers, Chappell is the only player in NEC history to compile 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 steals and 200 three-pointers in his career. A Cincinnati, OH native, he is the third-leading scorer in school history and tenth on the NEC career chart. He also ranks seventh all-time in the conference in steals. In Chappell’s four years in Moon Township, the Colonials have compiled a 79-41 record and he will graduate as the school recordholder for games played (120) and games started (116). Chappell is the first unanimous NEC Player of the Year selection since FDU’s Chad Timberlake in 2005-06. Other Robert Morris players to earn NEC Player of the Year include Lee in 2007-08, Chipper Harris in 1983-84, Vaughn Luton in 1988-89 and Myron Walker in 1991-92. Boyd stepped into void the left by the graduation of Kellen Allen and gave the Blackbirds a legitimate threat on the low block and workhorse on the offensive glass. On Monday, the 6’7” forward earned his league-leading sixth Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week honor, the most in a season since Saint Francis (PA)’s Darshan Luckey was honored on eight occasions in 2002-03. Boyd, who hails from San Antonio, TX, enters the postseason ranked first among NEC freshmen in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and second in scoring (10.3 ppg) despite coming off the bench all 29 games and averaging just 22.6 mpg. Per 40 minutes, Boyd is averaging 18.3 ppg and 11.1 rpg for the Blackbirds, who posted their best conference record (12-6) since 2000-01 and are assured of their first winning season since 1997-98. Additionally, Boyd ranks second in the league in offensive boards (3.0 rpg) and ninth in field goal percentage (.508). Boyd is the third Long Island recipient of the NEC Rookie of the Year award, joining James Williams (2004-05) and Richie Parker (1996-97). (2008-09 NEC Men’s Basketball All-Conference Release; 1-of-5) Bryant University (2012-13) • Central Connecticut State University • Fairleigh Dickinson University Long Island University • Monmouth University • Mount St. Mary’s University • Quinnipiac University Robert Morris Unviersity • Sacred Heart University • St. Francis (NY) College Saint Francis (PA) University • Wagner College A terrific perimeter defender for Robert Morris, Francisco helped anchor one of the NEC’s stingiest defenses in 2008-09. Teaming with NEC steals leader Jeremy Chappell in a formidable backcourt, the Colonials allowed a conference-low 62.8 ppg in league play, ranked second overall during the regular season in scoring defense at 66.4 ppg and yielded less than 70 points in 12 of their last 13 games against NEC competition. Individually, the native of Paris, France has compiled 39 steals and is tenth in the league with 1.3 spg. Feldeine’s steady rise at Quinnipiac culminated with his selection as the inaugural winner of the NEC Most Improved Player award. A seldom used freshman, Feldeine became a key contributor as a sophomore in 2007-08, then developed into a full-fledged star for the Bobcats this past season when he effortlessly stepped into the role formerly held by all-conference standout DeMario Anderson. Picture-perfect jump shot aside - the 6’4” forward has hit 46 shots from three-point range - Feldeine can score in a variety of ways from converting in transition to attacking the basket in traffic. With double-digits in all but one game this season, the New York City native leads the NEC with 16.8 ppg. He is also a strong rebounder with 6.1 per game (10th in the NEC) and has posted three double-doubles on the year. The Mid-Majority Baller of the Week on December 22 and two-time Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week, Feldeine has more than doubled his scoring average from last season when he averaged 8.3 ppg. In leading Robert Morris to its second consecutive NEC regular season championship, Rice joins Rider’s Kevin Bannon as the only coaches in NEC history to be voted Jim Phelan Coach of the Year in each of their first two years in the conference. Despite the loss of 2007-08 NEC Player of the Year Tony Lee and three-time NEC all-star A.J. Jackson, Rice kept the Colonials playing at a high level by emphasizing defensive effort on the floor, adding newcomer Rob Robinson to the front line and turning the keys on offense over to Jeremy Chappell, the latest Robert Morris standout to earn NEC Player of the Year plaudits. The Colonials are an astounding 31-5 in NEC play over the last two years, the second-best two year stretch behind Marist’s 28-4 (.875) run from 1986-88. Overall, Robert Morris has posted a 47-18 record in his tenure and back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1988-89 (21 wins) and 1989-90 (22 wins). Other notable achievements in Rice’s short time with the program include an NEC record 15-game road winning streak against conference opposition that was just recently snapped, a school record 26 wins in 2007-08 and a win over ACC opponent Boston College last season. Robert Morris has also received votes in the Associated Press Top-25 poll in each of the last two years. Heading into the NEC Tournament as the top seed, the Colonials have clinched a berth in the Postseason NIT for the second straight year. Last season, the Colonials nearly pulled off the upset in the NIT with an 87-81 setback at Syracuse. Former Robert Morris coaches Matt Furjanic (1982-83) and Jarrett Durham (1988-89 and 1989-90) have also won this award. Two of the five players that comprise the all-NEC first team were second team all-stars a year ago, led by Robert Morris senior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, OH/Northwest), the league’s Player of the Year. Long Island junior guard Jaytornah Wisseh (Brooklyn, NY/ Banneker Academy) was also a second-team honoree in 2007-08, while Sacred Heart graduate student forward Joey Henley (Kent, WA/ Kentride) was voted to the second team in 2004-05. Mount St. Mary’s junior guard Jeremy Goode (Charlotte, NC/Providence Day) and Quinnipiac sophomore forward Justin Rutty (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) are both first time award recipients. A fleet-footed 5’9” point guard who has started 90 games since his arrival in Emmitsburg in 2006, Goode immediately transformed Mount St. Mary’s into a title contender and led an improbable Mount run from the #4 seed to the program’s third NEC title last season. Serving as the indispensable hub of the offense, Goode powers the Mount’s transition game and directs the team’s halfcourt attack with equal aplomb. Throw in an improved shot from long range - he has boosted his three-point shooting from 29.9 percent as a sophomore to 39.8 percent this season - and you have one of the most dynamic performers in the conference.