AmEast Reflection: Mid-Season Awards – Yahoo Sports

But I ultimately left him off because he’s not single-handedly carrying his team like many of the first-team guys, as the Retriever guards really need to be talked about together.

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While Biel has tailed off lately, he’s looked too dominant at times to leave him off the second-team list. During the early conference season, he was essentially single-handedly keeping the Bears in games, which is why he has the second-highest on-off net rating among AmEast players (+41.8). The box scores also look good, as he’s averaging 15/5 with nearly two blocks per game.

Jeremiah Quigley might play for a pathetic Binghamton team, but he’s been a hero. He often looks like the best pure point guard in the conference, hence why he leads the AmEast in assists (nearly seven per game).

I may be too high on Ebonkoli and Green, but my cases are as follows:

• The River Hawks run so much through Green as one of the primary big men in Pat Duquette’s forward-heavy flex-adjacent offense. While there’s plenty around him, he’s been a main catalyst for a good offense, specifically with his conference-leading three offensive rebounds per game.

• Ebonkoli is, bar none, the best defensive player in the conference. NJIT has looked like a totally different animal when he’s anchoring the Highlanders’ shell defense, and he’s been a half-decent offensive player with his high-low, post-up, and second-chance actions.

All-Conference Third Team

Locks:

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• F Belal El Shakery, New Hampshire

• F Timofei Rudovskii, Bryant

Maybes:

• G Xavier Spencer, UMass Lowell

Regarding the locks:

Shakery is easily the conference’s best rebounder, and he’s a really high-usage post threat for a super post-heavy offense. He’s also a menace on defense, anchoring a half-decent Wildcats unit with over two stocks per game.

Rudovskii leads Bryant in scoring, and he’s an absolute joy to watch as a 6-foot-9 big man who can shot-create with the best of them. The maybes are basically a group of guys who could all earn an All-Conference nod. I don’t even know how I’d rank them, but I’ll give it a go anyway:

1. Spencer: He’s been Lowell’s best guard and an absolute weapon in transition for an up-tempo attack.

2. Bolden: Elite shot-maker. Records over two steals per game.

3. Matulu: Elite rebounder. Scores at a crazy-efficient clip playing as an off-ball wing alongside Lindsey. Always seems to be in the right spot and makes the right play — probably the best player among the Danes’ uber-deep wing corps.

4. Davis: Electric microwave scorer who has picked up the pace recently. Likely the only consistent offensive option for Bryant outside of Rudovskii.

5. Valentine: The UMBC guards all need to be talked about together, but Ace is the primary ball-handler and leads the penetrate-and-kick offense in assists.

6. Blake: Still has that explosive first step off the bounce, and he’s the conference’s third-best assist man. But he’s also improved as a shooter and defender. He’s the other player with a positive OBPR and DBPR mark.

7. King: The UMBC guards all need to be talked about together. Despite King often being the top option and scorer, many of his buckets feel empty, mostly driven by usage and volume. He’s also the worst defender of the three. I think I have to leave him off any All-Conference mentions, as important as he is to the Retreivers.

All-Defense Team

Locks:

• F Belal El Shakery, New Hampshire

Maybes:

• G Tyler Bike, New Hampshire

• F Okechukwu Okeke, Albany

• F Shawn Simmons, UMass Lowell

Ebonkoli and Shakery are locks.

Chris Markwood’s Bears have still been one of the league’s best defenses, and it’s primarily thanks to Biel’s weak-side athleticism and Carey’s on-ball pestering (Carey leads the league in steals). I think they both deserve a shout here.

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Here’s a case for each of the maybes:

• Allen: When he was healthy, his athleticism was mostly leveraged on the defensive end of the floor, where he recorded a Hakeem rate over 10%. Bryant’s defense has also started to lag since he got hurt.

• Armstrong: UMBC has posted the AmEast second-best defensive rating during conference play, and that’s primarily thanks to the Retreivers’ elite dribble defense, where Armstrong acts as the head of the snake. However, it really is a team effort from Jim Ferry’s group.

• Bike: The metrics for Bike are staggering. He leads the league in DRAPM while ranking sixth in DBPR. Among the best ball-screen coverage guys in the league (.53 PPP allowed, 90th percentile, best among AE defenders with at least 30 possessions). Despite his size

• Barnett: When he’s healthy, he’s easily Vermont’s most physical, impactful defender, and the Catamounts’ questionable stop unit still leads the league in defensive efficiency during conference play.

• Okeke: Simply a monster interior defender.

• Simmons: Leads the league in blocks. Unfortunately, the River Hawks don’t play great defense — or any defense at all, for that matter.

All-Rookie Team

Locks:

• G Tyler Bike, New Hampshire

• F Timofei Rudovskii, Bryant

Maybes:

• F JJ Massaquoi, UMass Lowell

It’s pretty clear to most that Bolden and Rudovskii have been the league’s two best rookies this season.

However, I think Bike needs to be part of that conversation. I mentioned his defensive impact above, but he’s also scored in double digits in four of the past five games and is shooting 45% from deep in conference play. He’s also a little 5-foot-10 speedster who plays hard as hell.

Regarding the questionables, you basically have four names for two spots.

If Mari continues his upward trend as a catch-and-shoot, off-ball scorer and defender, he’ll easily make the list. On the contrary, Massaquoi started the season hot but has been a disaster since, with the second-worst on/off net rating in the conference (-17.7).

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Among the AmEast frosh class, nobody has played more minutes than Sims’ 35 per game. The stats aren’t gaudy, but he eats up six boards a night, moves the ball OK, and defends fine. All in all, he’s had a positive impact on decently high volume.

Flagg’s defensive impact has been felt (1.5 steals per game, and the metrics love him), and he has started to trend up offensively in recent weeks since Keelan Steele was injured.

If I had to pick two names from this list, I’d pick Mari and Sims.

Awards

Conference Player of the Year:

• F Angel Montas, UMass Lowell

I don’t think there’s a wrong answer. Let me give you the case for each.

TJ: He’s the conference’s most consistent two-way player for arguably the conference’s best team. He’s an impossibly tough shot maker, a great ball-screen/DHO initiator (his two-man game with Yalden is electric), and a very effective perimeter defender for a vulnerable perimeter defense — and he does it all night in and night out. The most underrated part of his game is how much stronger he’s gotten over the past few years, which has helped him on dribble drives while simultaneously opening up his perimeter jumper. There’s also this: