RICHMOND, Va. (March 1, 2007) – Hofstra University senior guard Loren Stokes (Buffalo, N.Y./Turner-Carroll) was selected as the 2007 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media. The announcement was made Thursday night at the league’s pre-tournament awards banquet in Richmond, Va.

 

Also receiving top honors were VCU’s Anthony Grant as the CAA Coach of the Year, Northeastern freshman guard Matt Janning (Delano, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) as the CAA Rookie of the Year, Drexel senior forward Chaz Crawford (Philadelphia, Pa./Hargrave Military Academy) as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and George Mason senior Gabe Norwood (State College, Pa./State College) as the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.

 

Stokes capped a sensational four-year career with an impressive senior season. He ranked second in the CAA and 15th in the nation in scoring with 20.8 points per game and tallied double figures in all 30 contests. The 6-3 guard was also among the league’s top 20 in rebounding (5.7 rpg/12th), assists (3.1 apg/12th) and steals (1.2 spg/14th) for the third year in a row. A three-time first-team All-CAA selection, Stokes ranks second at Hofstra and sixth in CAA history with 2,120 career points and is one of nine active players in Division I with more than 2,000 points. He is the only player in Hofstra history to compile over 1,500 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals in a career.

 

In his first year as head coach, Grant guided VCU to a 24-6 overall record and the CAA regular-season title after being picked to finish sixth in the league’s pre-season poll. The Rams set a record for conference wins in a season with a 16-2 mark and their 24 overall victories are the second highest total in school history. The 24 wins are also the most-ever for a first-year VCU coach. Grant is one of 15 finalists for the Hugh Durham Award as the top mid-major coach in Division I. His Rams enter the CAA Tournament having won 15 of their past 18 contests.

 

Janning made 29 starts for Northeastern and led all CAA freshmen in scoring with 11.8 points per game. The 6-4 guard/forward began his collegiate career with a 16-point effort at Big East power Syracuse and scored double figures in 13 of the Huskies’ final 15 games. Janning was 10th in the CAA with 54 three-pointers and shot 36.2% from beyond the arc. He also dished out a team-high 89 assists, averaged 4.5 rebounds per game and made 28 steals.

 

Crawford made his presence felt in the middle like few players in the country, leading the CAA and ranking ninth in the nation with 3.3 blocked shots per game. His 92 rejections in 2006-07 are the seventh-highest season total in league history and he ranks second on the CAA’s career blocks chart with 316, trailing only Navy All-American David Robinson. The 6-10 forward also led the conference and was among the top 20 in Division I in rebounding with 9.7 per game. He is the only active player in the nation with over 300 career blocks and 800 career rebounds (801).

 

Norwood saw action in all 29 games for George Mason this season and started nine. The four-year letterman and team captain scored 3.3 points per game and dished out 51 assists. Norwood is the third George Mason player to earn the Ehlers Award, which is presented annually to the men’s basketball student-athlete who “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.”

 

Joining Stokes on the All-CAA first team were Towson senior guard Gary Neal (Aberdeen, Md./Calvert Hall), Old Dominion senior forward Valdas Vasylius (Klaipeda, Lithuania/Norfolk Collegiate), Hofstra junior guard Antoine Agudio (Huntington Station, N.Y./Walt Whitman) and VCU sophomore guard Eric Maynor (Fayetteville, N.C./Westover).

 

Neal led the CAA and ranked fourth in the nation in scoring this season with 25.6 points per game. The 6-4 senior netted 30 or more points 10 times and his 769 points are the 4th-highest season total in league history. Neal is the third-leading active scorer in the nation (2,254 pts) and he is one of three players in NCAA history to score more than 1,000 points at two different schools. Vasylius made the All-CAA team for the first time after leading Old Dominion and ranking among the top 10 in the CAA in scoring (16.0 ppg/5th) and rebounding (6.3 rpg/10th). The 6-7 senior scored double figures in 27 of the Monarchs’ final 29 games, recorded a team-high four double-doubles and connected on better than 50 percent of his shots from the floor.

 

Agudio moved up to the All-CAA first team after making the third team as a freshman and the second team as a sophomore. He was third in the CAA and 17th in the nation in scoring with 20.5 points per game and tallied double digits in all 30 contests. The 6-3 junior drained a league-high 95 three-pointers, breaking the Hofstra season record for the third year in a row, and his 268 career treys ranks eighth on the CAA all-time list. Maynor made the All-CAA first team in his first year as a full-time starter. The 6-2 sophomore led the CAA and ranked seventh in Division I with 6.4 assists per game, and his 192 total assists are just five shy of the VCU season record. He also was 11th in the conference in scoring with 13.8 points per game and posted double figures 23 times.

  

 

2006-07 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS

 

First Team All-CAA                         Cl.            Pos.            Ht.            Wt.            Hometown/High School

Antoine Agudio, Hofstra                   Jr.            G            6-3            185            Huntington Station, N.Y./Walt Whitman

Eric Maynor, VCU                            So.            G            6-2            165            Fayetteville, N.C./Westover

Gary Neal, Towson                          Sr.            G            6-4            200            Aberdeen, Md./Calvert Hall

Loren Stokes, Hofstra                       Sr.            G            6-3            175            Buffalo, N.Y./Turner-Carroll

Valdas Vasylius, Old Dominion      Sr.            F            6-7            210            Klaipeda, Lithuania/Norfolk Collegiate

 

Second Team All-CAA                     Cl.            Pos.            Ht.            Wt.            Hometown/High School

Herb Courtney, Delaware                    Jr.            F            6-7            200            Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham

Frank Elegar, Drexel                         Jr.            C            6-9            220            Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond’s

Will Thomas, George Mason             Jr.            F            6-7            230            Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph

B.A. Walker, VCU                            Sr.            G            6-2            160            Onancock, Va./Nandua

Drew Williamson, Old Dominion            Sr.            G            6-0            185            Burlington, N.C./Cummings

 

Third Team All-CAA                     Cl.            Pos.            Ht.            Wt.            Hometown/High School

Folarin Campbell, George Mason     Jr.            G/F            6-4            205            Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook

Bennet Davis, Northeastern              Sr.            F            6-9            220            Freeport, Bahamas/Milford Academy

Bashir Mason, Drexel                      Sr.            G            6-0            185            Jersey City, N.J./St. Benedict’s Prep

Adam Payton, William & Mary    Sr.            G            6-3            195            Burlington, N.J./Lawrenceville School

Jesse Pellot-Rosa, VCU                  Sr.            G            6-4            195            Richmond, Va./George Wythe

 

2007 CAA Player of the Year – Loren Stokes, Hofstra

2007 CAA Coach of the Year – Anthony Grant, VCU

2007 CAA Rookie of the Year – Matt Janning, Northeastern

2007 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Chaz Crawford, Drexel

2007 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Gabe Norwood, George Mason

 

CAA All-Rookie Team             Cl.            Pos.            Ht.            Wt.            Hometown/High School

Pierre Curtis, James Madison                      Fr.            G            6-3            165            Denver, Colo./East

T.J. Gwynn, VCU                            Fr.            F            6-4            190            Burlington, N.C./Cummings

Matt Janning, Northeastern                Fr.            G/F            6-4            165            Delano, Minn./Watertown-Mayer

Brian Johnson, Delaware                    Fr.            G            5-10            190            Annapolis, Md./Mount St. Joseph

David Schneider, William & Mary    Fr.            G            6-3            175            Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep

 

CAA All-Defensive Team              Cl.            Pos.            Ht.            Wt.            Hometown/High School

Chaz Crawford, Drexel             Sr.            F            6-10            235            Philadelphia, Pa./Hargrave Military

Brandon Johnson, Old Dominion            Jr.            G            6-1            180            Orlando, Fla./Edgewater

Bashir Mason, Drexel                         Sr.            G            6-0            185            Jersey City, N.J./St. Benedict’s Prep

Will Thomas, George Mason             Jr.            F            6-7            230            Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph

Drew Williamson, Old Dominion            Sr.            G            6-0            185            Burlington, N.C./Cummings

 

CAA All-Academic First Team            Cl.            Pos.            Ht.            Wt.            Hometown/High School

Jonathan Adams, Old Dominion            So.            F            6-6            220            Ringgold, Ga./Baylor

Jeff Horowitz, UNC Wilmington            Jr.            F            6-9            250            Charlotte, N.C./Mecklenberg

John Morris, Old Dominion             Sr            G            6-2            180            Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity

Calvin Roland, VCU                            Sr.            C            6-10            245            Hephzibah, Ga./Hephzibah

Adam Trumbower, William & Mary    Sr.            G            6-3            190            Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring

 

 

CAA All-Academic Second Team            Cl.            Pos.            Ht.            Wt.            Hometown/High School

Kyle Carrabine, William & Mary    Jr.            G            6-7            200            Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley

Gabriel Chami, James Madison            Jr.            C            6-11            250            Cordoba, Argentina/New Hampton

Dejan Grkovic, UNC Wilmington            Sr.            F            6-8            225            Hamilton, Ontario/Sherwood

Sam Harris, Old Dominion             Jr.            C            7-3            283            Newnham, Tasmania/Lake Ginniderra Coll.

Ryan Johnson, Hofstra                        Jr.            G/F            6-4            215            Massapequa, N.Y./St. John the Baptist

Sam McMahon, Delaware                    Jr.            G            6-5            210            Lohman, Mo./Jefferson City

Laimis Kisielius, William & Mary    Jr.            F            6-8            210            Vilnius, Lithuania/Miller School

Jonathan Pease, Towson                        Jr.            F            6-6            190            Mechanicsville, Md./Chopticon

Scott Rodgers, Drexel                         So.            G            6-3            205            Philadelphia, Pa./Central

Colbey Santos, James Madison            So.            G            6-5            190            East Wareham, Mass./Tabor Academy