University of Vermont junior forward Taylor Coppenrath became the fourth player in the 25-year history of America East to win player of the year honors more than once when he was named the winner of the Kevin Roberson Award for the second-straight year. Coppenrath was honored along with Boston University sophomore guard Shaun Wynn, the Defensive Player of the Year, University at Albany freshman guard Jon Iati, the Rookie of the Year, and Dennis Wolff of Boston University, the Coach of the Year, at the conference’s awards luncheon at Metcalf Hall on the Boston University campus. All voting was conducted by the conference’s head coaches. Awards breakdown.
Coppenrath, who leads America East in scoring and ranks fourth in the nation with 23.8 points per game, joins the late Reggie Lewis, the captain of the Boston Celtics at the time of his death in 1993, Malik Rose, who won his second NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs last season, and Speedy Claxton, who won an NBA title with the Spurs last year and now plays for the Golden State Warriors, as the only multiple-time winners of the conference’s top award. Lewis is the only three-time recipient, having won the award in 1985, 1986 and 1987 while at Northeastern University. Rose was a back-to-back winner in 1995 and 1996 while at Drexel. Claxton won as a sophomore at Hofstra in 1998 and again as a senior in 2000. The 6-9 Coppenrath has missed the last five games with a broken bone in his left wrist. He is likely lost for the remainder of the season.
Wynn is the top defensive player for the Terriers, who lead the conference and rank 10th in the nation in scoring defense (58.7 ppg). The 6-2 guard is ranked second in the conference with 2.1 steals per game.
The 5-9 Iati leads the nation in minutes played with 40.1 per game. He leads the conference’s rookies and is ninth among all players in scoring with 14.5 points per game and also leads the conference’s first-year players with 3.0 assists per game. He is the second-straight Great Dane to win the award, following Jamar Wilson.
Wolff joins former Drexel coach Bill Herrion and current Vermont coach Tom Brennan as the only coaches to win the award three times or more. Wolff, who also won the award in 1997 and again last year, joins Herrion and former Hofstra coach Jay Wright as the only back-to-back winners. Herrion was honored in 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999. Brennan was coach of the year in 1991, 1998 and 2002. Wright was selected in 2000 and 2001. Wolff has compiled a record of 172-122 in 10 years at Boston University and a 202-140 record in 12 years at the collegiate level. He has led the Terriers to a 17-1 mark in America East and a 23-4 record overall. Boston University, which has won or shared each of the last three conference regular-season titles, owns the nation’s fourth-longest winning streak at 12 games.
Coppenrath was joined on the all-conference first team by sophomore guard Jose Juan Barea of Northeastern, junior guard Chaz Carr and senior forward Jason Grochowalski of Boston University and junior guard T.J. Sorrentine of Vermont. Coppenrath and Barea were unanimous selections.
Barea is second in America East and 15th in the nation with 21.2 points per game. The 5-11 point guard also leads the conference and is ranked 30th in the nation with 5.8 assists per game. He became the third-fastest Husky to 1,000 career points (behind Lewis and Peter Harris) when he reached that milestone Sunday in his 53rd career game. Carr leads the regular-season champions and ranks No. 12 in the conference in scoring with 13.1 points per game. Grochowalski averages 10.1 points per game. He leads the conference and ranks eighth in the nation in free throw percentage (.892). The 6-6 forward has scored 1,090 points in his career, despite just 32 starts. Sorrentine, the 2002 America East Player of the Year, missed all of last year after suffering broken bones in both wrists in an intrasquad game. The 5-11 point guard averages 14.7 points per game and is third in the conference with 4.6 assists per game. He averaged 16.4 points per game in 18 conference contests, second only to Barea (23.2 ppg).
The second team includes junior center Nick Billings of Binghamton University, senior guard Eric Dobson, junior forward Mark Flavin and sophomore guard Kevin Reed of University of Maine, and senior guard D.J. Munir of Stony Brook University. Billings leads the Bearcats in scoring (12.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg). The 7-footer also leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation with 3.5 blocks per game. Dobson averages 12.6 points per game and ranks second in the conference and 34th in the nation with 5.7 assists per game. Flavin averages 12.5 points per game, is fifth in the conference with 6.8 rebounds per game and ranks second in America East and 34th in the nation with 2.0 blocks per game. Reed leads the Black Bears in scoring (14.6 ppg) and leads the conference in steals (2.2 spg) and three-point field goal percentage (.394), connecting on 69-of-175 beyond the arc. The 6-1 guard is also second in the conference in rebounding (7.2 rpg). Munir is fourth in the conference in scoring with 15.7 points per game and has scored 1,554 points in his career.
The third team consists of senior guard Brandon Carter of Binghamton, senior forward Ryan Butt and Wynn of Boston University, senior guard Ryan Stys of University of Hartford and senior swingman Javorie Wilson of Northeastern. Carter is second on the Bearcats in scoring with 10.7 points per game and leads the team with 1.7 steals per game. Butt averages 8.9 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. Wynn averages 8.1 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game. Stys is No. 11 in America East scoring with 13.3 points per game and has scored 1,270 points in his career. Wilson is 10th in the conference in scoring (13.3 ppg) while shooting 44.5 percent from the floor.
Iati is joined on the all-rookie team by guard Troy Hailey of Binghamton, swingman Blagoj Janev of University of New Hampshire, and forwards Bennet Davis of Northeastern and Mike Popoko of Stony Brook. Hailey is third on the Bearcats with 9.6 points per game and leads the team with 2.3 assists per game. Janev, who joined the Wildcats in December, is second on the team with 10.3 points per game in 20 contests. Davis averages 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Popoko averages 8.6 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game, tops among the conference’s rookies.
The all-conference choices will be in action this weekend at the Choice Hotels America East Men’s Basketball Championship at Walter Brown Arena on the Boston University campus. No. 8 Stony Brook and No. 9 University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) open the championship with a first-round game Friday at 7 p.m. No. 7 New Hampshire and No. 10 Albany follow. Quarterfinal games continue Saturday with No. 4 Maine and No. 5 Binghamton at 12 noon. No. 1 Boston University and the winner of the Stony Brook-UMBC game follow. No. 2 Vermont plays the winner of the New Hampshire-Albany game at 6 p.m. No. 3 Northeastern and No. 6 Hartford follow. Semifinal games are slated for Sunday at 12 noon and 2:30 p.m.