For the second consecutive year, Purchase forward Marvin Billups has been named the Skyline Men’s Basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference’s 11 head coaches.
The Skyline coaches also selected Joe Stabach of Mount Saint Mary as the Rookie of the Year and Ryan Kadlubowski of Mount Saint Mary as Coach of the Year. In addition, Bard received the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Billups enters the Panthers’ NCAA Tournament contest versus Hartwick on Mar. 4 ranked second in the league in scoring (19.4 ppg.), third in steals (2.59 spg.), sixth in field goal percentage (.528) while averaging six rebounds per game. The 6-5 senior from Chester, N.Y., scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds on Feb. 26 as Purchase downed St. Joseph’s-L.I. (81-66) to defend its Skyline Conference title and secure its 22nd victory of the season. He was twice named the Skyline Player of the Week in 2010-11.
Stabach leads all Skyline freshmen in scoring with a team-leading 12.5 points per game average and is tops in the Conference in three-point percentage (.424). A four-time Rookie of the Week selection, the Staten Island, N.Y., resident ranks second on the team in steals (33) and was also named to the All-Conference second-team.
Now in his second season at Mount Saint Mary, Kadlubowski led the Knights to a 16-4 mark in league play – a seven-win improvement from a year ago – and the second overall seed in the 2011 Skyline Conference Championship. At 18-8 overall, Mount Saint Mary earned its first berth in the ECAC Metro Region Tournament since 2005-06 and will face Richard Stockton on Mar. 2 in the first round. Kadlubowski graduated from the University of Rochester in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and holds a master’s degree in sports leadership from VCU.
The All-Conference first-team consists of Old Westbury teammates Frantz Granjean and Lester Prosper; Giovanni Hurley of Maritime; and St. Joseph’s teammates Chris Jimenez and Oliver Laurent. Jimenez and Prosper – who leads the league in scoring (19.6 ppg.) - were second-team selections a year ago.
Joining Stabach on the second-team All-Conference are Dyshaun Flournoy and Joshua Smith of Farmingdale State; Mount Saint Mary’s Carlos Valdez; and Purchase senior Michael McNair, the 2011 Skyline Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player.
2010-11 SKYLINE CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
First-Team
Frantz Granjean, Old Westbury - Senior, Forward/Center (16.6 ppg., 8.6 rpg.)
Giovanni Hurley, Maritime - Senior, Forward (17.3 ppg., 8.8 rpg.)
Chris Jimenez, St. Joseph’s - Junior, Guard (14.8 ppg., 3.9 rpg.)
Oliver Laurent, St. Joseph’s - Junior, Guard (17.0 ppg., 4.8 rpg.)
Lester Prosper, Old Westbury - Senior, Center (19.6 ppg., 13.0 rpg.)
Second-Team
Dyshaun Flournoy, Farmingdale State - Junior, Guard (14.5 ppg., 3.0 rpg.)
Michael McNair, Purchase - Senior, Guard (14.4 ppg., 2.3 rpg.)
Joshua Smith, Farmingdale State - Junior, Guard (15.2 ppg., 5.2 rpg.)
Joe Stabach, Mount Saint Mary - Freshman, Guard (12.5 ppg., 1.5 rpg.)
Carlos Valdez, Mount Saint Mary - Junior, Forward (10.6 ppg., 10.1 rpg.)
Player of the Year: Marvin Billups, Purchase
Rookie of the Year: Joe Stabach, Mount Saint Mary
Coach of the Year: Ryan Kadlubowski, Mount Saint Mary
Tournament MVP: Michael McNair, Purchase
Team Sportsmanship Award: Bard