The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team has celebrated a host of achievements, and its most notable pupil, Will Fonseca, has earned another, logging the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Division III Player of the Year honors, it was announced today. Sophomore teammate Frank Schettino also earned kudos, named a 2nd-team All-Star. One of the oldest organizations awarding college basketball players from all three NCAA Divisions, the 82nd Annual Haggerty Awards take place on Wednesday, April 22, at 6pm, at the Westchester Marriot in Tarrytown, NY.
Fonseca has seen his fair share of awards this season. The junior most recently was named a first-team All-America by BennettRank, and earned third-team All-America by D3hoops.com and DIII News. The laurels come on the heels of a record-breaking season, one that saw Fonseca saw an NCAA Division III leading 732 points, the most in CSI single season history, good for 26.1 points per game. Fonseca also averaged 12.5 rebounds per game and led the unit with 49 blocks and led the nation with 26 double-doubles. Fonseca was named to both the UMass-Dartmouth and CSI Tournament of Heroes regular season All-Tournament teams, and walked away with both CUNYAC and ECAC Metro NY/NJ Player of the Year honors.
“All of this has been overwhelming,” said Fonseca, who is quicker to find faults that need improving in his game over the tremendous season he banked in 2014-15. “I know I had a good season but I’m going to work even harder to get better because I know that the sky is the limit for me and our team as a whole.”
Still, the attention hasn’t been lost on the second-year junior, who eclipsed 1,000 points this season. “It is truly an honor to know that journalists in the area have acknowledged the season I have had, and I am looking forward to taking part of the event.”
Joining Fonseca in the festivities will be Schettino, who led the nation in total assists this season with 228, breaking his own school record of 222 set last year. Schettino also averaged 17 points per game, making every start for the 20-9 Dolphins.
Head Coach Tony Petosa was quick to point to the two leaders as catalysts to his unit, and much of the reason for the team’s success this season, which included a back-to-back ECAC Metro NY/NJ Championship. “Most everything we do offensively centers around them and for us to be successful, the ball should pass through their hands on every possession,” he said. “From the beginning they’ve taken that leadership role and I felt the team as a whole worked incredibly hard this season around them. They do things other people can’t do, which help us a great deal.”
Both Fonseca and Schettino will return in 2015-16 for the Dolphins, who graduated only one senior this past season. The Dolphins finished fourth in the CUNYAC standings, losing in the CUNYAC Quarterfinal round for the first time since 2010. The team rebounded nicely in time for the ECAC tourney, notching three straight upsets for the crown, capped by a thrilling, 84-80, double-overtime win over New York University in the Final.
