Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
The Northeast Conference (NEC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual college basketball award given to the Northeast Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1982–83 season, when the league was known as the ECAC Metro Conference.[lower-alpha 1]
| NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Given for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Northeast Conference |
| Country | United States |
| History | |
| First award | 1983 |
| Most recent | Isaiah Blackmon, Saint Francis (PA) |
The most well-recognized NEC Player of the Year is Marist's Rik Smits, who won the award in 1987 and 1988. Smits went on to have a successful National Basketball Association (NBA) career for 12 seasons (1988–2000), all with the Indiana Pacers.[1] In 1998, Smits was named an Eastern Conference All-Star.[1]
LIU has the most winners with eight, all of whom represented Long Island University's Brooklyn campus before the school merged the athletic programs of its Brooklyn and Post campuses in July 2019. Robert Morris, which left the NEC for the Horizon League in 2020, is in second with six. All charter members of the Northeast Conference that are still members have had at least one winner.
Key
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1904–05 to 1978–79) UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96) Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present) John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present) |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the NEC Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
Winners by school
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| LIU (1981)[lower-alpha 2] | 8 | 1984†, 1985, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2012, 2013, 2017 |
| Robert Morris (1981)[lower-alpha 3] | 6 | 1984†, 1989, 1992, 2008, 2009, 2014 |
| Central Connecticut (1997) | 5 | 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2011 |
| Marist (1981)[lower-alpha 4] | 4 | 1983, 1987, 1988, 1994 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn (1981) | 4 | 1984†, 1999, 2015 |
| Saint Francis (PA) (1981) | 3 | 1991, 2019, 2020 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson (1981) | 2 | 1990, 2006 |
| Monmouth (1985)[lower-alpha 5] | 2 | 2001, 2005 |
| Mount St. Mary's (1989) | 2 | 1996, 2018 |
| Wagner (1981) | 2 | 1986, 2003 |
| Quinnipiac (1998)[lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 2010 |
| Rider (1992)[lower-alpha 6] | 1 | 1993 |
| Sacred Heart (1999) | 1 | 2016 |
| Bryant (2008) | 0 | — |
| Merrimack (2019) | 0 | — |
| Loyola (MD) (1981)[lower-alpha 7] | 0 | — |
| Siena (1981)[lower-alpha 8] | 0 | — |
| UMBC (1998)[lower-alpha 9] | 0 | — |
Footnotes
- The Northeast Conference was founded in 1981 as the ECAC Metro Conference, but member schools changed the name beginning with the 1989–90 school year.
- From 1981 to 2019, Long Island University was represented in the Northeast Conference by its Brooklyn campus, known for athletic purposes as "Long Island" through the 2012–13 season and "LIU Brooklyn" from 2013–14 forward. After the 2018–19 season, LIU merged the athletic programs of its Brooklyn and Post campuses into a single program, now competing as the LIU Sharks, that inherited the NCAA Division I and Northeast Conference memberships of the Brooklyn campus.
- Robert Morris University was a charter member in 1981, but left in 2020 to join the Horizon League.
- Marist College was a charter member in 1981, but left in 1997 to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
- Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University left in 2013 for the MAAC.
- Rider University, which had spent five seasons in the NEC, left in 1997 to join the MAAC.
- Loyola University Maryland (then Loyola College in Maryland), also a charter member, left in 1989 to join the MAAC, and is now in the Patriot League.
- Siena College, also a charter member, left in 1984 to join the MAAC.
- The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) left in 2003 to join the America East Conference.
- In addition, one charter member, Towson University (then Towson State University), left after the conference's first season of 1981–82, before the Player of the Year Award was created. The Tigers left for the East Coast Conference, and are now in the Colonial Athletic Association.
References
- General
- "Records & History" (PDF). 2009–10 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide. Northeast Conference. Archived from the original (PDF, pg. 20) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- Specific
- "Rik Smits Bio". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- CCSU's Ken Horton Named Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 1, 2011
- LIU Brooklyn's Julian Boyd Named 2011-12 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Retrieved on February 28, 2012.
- LIU Brooklyn's Jamal Olasewere Selected Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Retrieved on March 5, 2013.
- Robert Morris Senior Guard Karvel Anderson Selected NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Retrieved on March 4, 2014.
- "Sacred Heart's Cane Broome Named NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year" (Press release). Northeast Conference. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- "LIU Brooklyn's Jerome Frink Named NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year" (Press release). Northeast Conference. February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- "Mount St. Mary's Junior Robinson Named NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year" (Press release). Northeast Conference. February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- "SFU'S Keith Braxton named NEC men's basketball player of the year" (Press release). Northeast Conference. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
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