New York, N.Y. - Senior Kai Deans of Sage has been named the 2014-15 Skyline Men's Basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference's ten head coaches.
The Skyline coaches also selected Travis Gill of Sage as Defensive Player of the Year, Mount Saint Vincent's Ammad Alkhulaidi as Rookie of the Year and Brian Barnes of Sage as Coach of the Year.
Deans leads the league in rebounding (8.9 rpg.) and ranks second in scoring (17.6 ppg.) as Sage secured the program's first-ever regular season title. The Miami, Fla., resident and four-time Skyline Player of the Week selection is shooting a team-best 53.3 percent (145-of-272) from the field. He has scored in double figures in 20 of the Gators' 25 games this season, including a program-record 33-point performance on Jan. 31 in a 106-81 win over Mount Saint Vincent.
Gill earns Defensive Player of the Year distinction as the Gators enter their Skyline semifinal contest versus Old Westbury on Feb. 26 leading the conference in field goal percentage defense (.372) and ranked second in scoring defense (66.2 ppg.). The junior swingman from Brooklyn, N.Y., is averaging 7.3 points and 3.5 rebounds with 26 steals and nine blocked shots.
A three-time Rookie of the Week selection, Alkhulaidi is ranked third in the conference in blocked shots (1.5 bpg.) and seventh in rebounding (7.1 rpg.) while averaging 9.8 points per game. The freshman forward from Brooklyn, N.Y., has started all 26 games while compiling five double-double performances and a team-high 58 assists entering the Dolphins' Feb. 26 Skyline semifinal tilt at St. Joseph's-L.I.
Joining Deans on the All-Conference first team are Yeshiva teammates Benjy Ritholtz and Shelby Rosenberg; Sean McCarthy of St. Joseph's-L.I.; Mount Saint Vincent's James Zuccaro; and Andre Robinson of Sage.
The second-team All-Conference consists of Andy Laurent and Fernando Vazquez of St. Joseph's- L.I.; Old Westbury's Mark Gjonlekaj and Reynaldo Walters; and Antonio Johnson of Mount Saint Vincent.
Now in his sixth season, Barnes has guided Sage to a program-best 21 victories and the top seed in this week's Skyline Championship after capturing the regular season crown with a 15-3 mark in league play. Barnes graduated from the University at Albany in 2003 with a degree in Communications and earned his master's degree in Educational Administration from the University at Albany in 2005.
2014-15 SKYLINE MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
First-Team:
Kai Deans* - Sage - Sr. - F/C - Miami, Fla.
Sean McCarthy - St. Joseph's-L.I. - Sr. - F - Kings Park, N.Y.
Benjy Ritholtz - Yeshiva - Sr. - G - West Hempstead, N.Y.
Andre Robinson - Sage - Jr. - G - Fort Pierce, Fla.
Shelby Rosenberg - Yeshiva - Jr. - F - Woodmere, N.Y.
James Zuccaro - Mount Saint Vincent - Sr. - G/F - Gilbert, Ariz.
Second-Team:
Mark Gjonlekaj - Old Westbury - So. - F - Roslyn, N.Y.
Antonio Johnson - Mount Saint Vincent - Sr. - G - Fort Johnson, N.Y.
Andy Laurent - St. Joseph's-L.I. - So. - G - Amityville, N.Y.
Fernando Vazquez - St. Joseph's-L.I. - So. - F - Babylon, N.Y.
Reynaldo Walters - Old Westbury - Jr. - G - South Ozone Park, N.Y.
*Player of the Year: Kai Deans, Sage
Defensive Player of the Year: Travis Gill, Sage
Rookie of the Year: Ammad Alkhulaidi, Mount Saint Vincent
Coach of the Year: Brian Barnes, Sage
(Statistics thru games of Feb. 25)
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