Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University (RMU) men's basketball team was honored with a trio of postseason awards Tuesday, as senior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati/Northwest) was a unanimous selection for 2009 NEC Player of the Year in a vote by league head coaches, senior guard Bateko Francisco (Paris, France/Fort Scott J.C.) was named the 2009 NEC Defensive Player of the Year and second-year head coach Mike Rice earned his second straight NEC Jim Phelan Coach of the Year accolade.
Chappell, who was also named to the All-NEC First Team, is joined by junior forward Rob Robinson (Waldorf, Md./Globe Institute of Technology) in taking home postseason honors. Robinson was named to the All-NEC Second Team.
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A 6'3", 210-pound guard, Chappell is the first unanimous NEC Player of the Year selection since Fairleigh Dickinson's Chad Timberlake in 2006. Chappell is the fifth player in program history to be bestowed with the honor, joining former Colonial greats Tony Lee (2008), Myron Walker (1992), Vaughn Luton (1989) and Chipper Harris (1984). Harris was tabbed NEC Tri-Player of the Year in 1984.
A two-time Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week, Chappell ranks in the top 15 in nine different statistical categories in the conference. He leads the league and ranks 13th in Division I in steals with 2.6 per game and also ranks third in the conference in scoring (16.6 ppg), three-pointers per game (2.4) and free-throw percentage (.854). Chappell also ranks eighth in the NEC in rebounding (6.4 per game) and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (.403).
Earlier this season, Chappell became the first player in the 28-year history of the NEC to compile career totals of at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 steals and 200 three-pointers. He will lead the Colonials into the 2009 NEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed with career totals of 1,805 points, 656 rebounds, 324 assists, 259 steals and 232 three-pointers.
Chappell is RMU's all-time leader in career games played (120), starts (116) and double-figure scoring games (96) and ranks third in program history and 10th in league history in scoring with 1,805 points. Named the 2006 NEC Rookie of the Year, he is the fourth player in league history to win the conference's top rookie honor and go on and win player of the year accolades, joining Rik Smits of Marist, Desi Wilson of Fairleigh Dickinson and Jermaine Hall of Wagner. |
Jeremy Chappell
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Francisco, a 6'1", 185-pound guard, was named the 2009 NEC Defensive Player of the Year after helping turn the Colonial defense into one of the stingiest in the conference in 2008-09. A terrific perimeter defender, Francisco teamed with Chappell to allow RMU to holds it opponents to just 62.8 points per game in league play, the top mark in the conference. Overall, RMU's scoring defense of 66.4 points per game ranks second. Individually, Francisco ranks second for the Colonials in steals with 39, an average of 1.3 per game that ranks 10th in the NEC.
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In leading RMU to its second straight NEC regular-season title in 2009, Rice joins Rider's Kevin Bannon as the only coaches in league history to earn Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honors in each of their first two years in the conference. He has led the Colonials to a record of 31-5 (.861) in league play the last two seasons, the second best two-year stretch in league history behind Marist, which went 28-4 (.875) from 1986 to 1988. Overall, RMU has posted a 47-18 (.723) record in his tenure, including back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1988-89 (21 wins) and 1989-90 (22 wins).
Rice is the fifth different head coach in NEC history to earn back-to-back coach of the year plaudits. He joins FDU's Tom Green (1985 and 1986), former Colonial head coach Jarrett Durham (1989 and 1990), Bannon and Central Connecticut State's Howie Dickenman (2006 and 2007).
Earning All-NEC Second Team honors is Robinson, who in 2008-09 has provided the Colonials with their first true post presence in recent seasons. The 6'8", 215-pound forward has averaged 11.6 points and 5.3 rebounds so far this year, with those averages jumping to 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest against NEC competition. Robinson has also compiled a team-high 29 blocks as RMU has established a new team record in the category this season with 105.
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Mike Rice
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