The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team continues to make headlines even after falling in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament’s Round of 16 this past weekend. The Dolphins got three All-District citations from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, it was announced today. The honors include a Co-Coach of the Year award for Tony Petosa, and 2nd-team Atlantic Region honors for both seniors T.J. Tibbs and Jordan Young.
Recognizing the best men’s collegiate basketball student-athletes and coaches in the division, honorees from eight regions were selected by member coaches of the NABC. The three total citations tied five other schools around the nation for the most by any one campus. The Dolphins recently capped off their finest year in program history, en route to a 26-5 overall record (11-0 CUNYAC), a twelfth CUNYAC Postseason Championship and a pair of thrilling NCAA DIII Tournament wins.
A four year senior who made 105 career starts, Young placed second on the squad with 16.6 points per game, adding 7.5 rebounds and a total of 81 assists this season. The first-team CUNYAC All-Star led the conference and finished 27th nationally shooting 58.6% from the field. He finalized his career with 1,764 points, good for second all-time, with his 792 career rebounds placing sixth. This coming weekend he was selected to participate in the 2012 NABC All-Star Game in Salem, Virginia.
A second year star for the Dolphins, T.J. Tibbs emerged for CSI a year ago and made a total of 58 starts for the Dolphins. This year, he led the squad with 183 assists, the second-highest mark in CSI single-season history, and his 15.8 points per game placed third on the squad. Adding 3.5 rebounds per game, Tibbs also placed second on the squad in three-point percentage (43.6%) and free-throw percentage (80.4%). His 5.9 assists per game rank him 13th nationally, while his 319 career helpers place him 11th all-time in CSI career history.
No newcomer to the coaching circles, Petosa manned the sidelines at CSI for his 22nd season in 2012, where he also spend three years as an assistant and four years as Dolphins star in the early-80’s. Under his guidance the program has increased its win total in each of the past three seasons, and this season, CSI set school records for games played (31), wins (26), three-pointers (212) and three-point percentage (40.8%). The team also set a school-record with 19-straight wins, before falling to No. 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA DIII National Tourney.
Winning NABC Player of the Year honors for the Atlantic Region was A.J. Matthews from Farmingdale State College, while William Paterson Head Coach Jose Rebimbas shared Coach of the Year honors with Petosa. Other all-regional all-stars were – First-team: Andrew August, Montclair State; DiAndre Brown, Richard Stockton; Lance Brown and Corey Chandler, William Paterson; Winston Douglas, Medgar Evers; Second-team: Jerome Alexander, John Jay; Pedro Burgos, Rutgers-Newark; Chris Jimenez, St. Joseph’s (LI).
Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Forrest “Phog” Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men’s basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today’s student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.org.
