Smith, Jr. Named NEC Player of the Year; Frazier is Most Improved Player
Darin Smith, Jr. was named NEC Player of the Year, while Max Frazier was named Most Improved Player to headline a group of five members of the Central Connecticut men's basketball team to earn NEC postseason honors it was announced Tuesday. Smith, Jr. (First Team) and Frazier (Third Team) were joined by Jay Rodgers (Second Team) and NEC All-Rookie Team honorees Roddy Jones and Ashton Reynolds.
Smith, Jr. is the program's seventh NEC Player of the Year and marks the second straight season a Blue Devil has claimed the league's top honor. As a sophomore, he led the circuit in scoring (20.4 ppg) and free throw percentage (.909). He was named Influxer/NEC Player of the Week six times, while also adding 5.2 rebounds and shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three-point range. He was among the league's statistical top-15 in seven categories, while scoring in double-figures in 28 games. He has scored 20 or more points in a game 17 times and scored the most points in a game for a Blue Devil since Feb. 14, 2013 when he poured in 40 points at New Haven. His 592 points on the season is the fifth-most in a single-season in program history.
Frazier, who was named to the All-Defensive Team, became the first Blue Devil to be named Most Improved Player. The 6-foot-9 junior was also named Third Team All-NEC. Frazier shot a NEC-best 65.9 percent from the field, which ranked fourth nationally. He was second in the NEC in blocks per game (1.7) and fourth in rebounding (7.3). He recorded four double-doubles this season and poured in a career-best 24 points against Sacred Heart and collected a personal-high 14 rebounds against FDU during the season. Frazier started all 29 games and posted 12.0 points per game in 27.8 minutes, upping his totals of last season (3.1 points in 10.0 mnutes).
Rodgers earned All-NEC Second Team honors after returning to action this season in spectacular fashion. After missing much of the past two seasons, he became just the second player in program-history to distribute more than 200 assists in a single-season, giving out a league-high 7.0 assists per game. He also had a league-best 2.6 assist-turnover ratio. He gave out five-or-more assists in 23 games and posted three double-doubles during the season, while scoring 11.3 points per game. He scored a season-high 21 points against Stonehill and gave out a personal-best 14 assists in the NEC-opener at LIU.
Jones played in 22 games and averaged 10.8 minutes while scoring 4.4 points and shooting 37.9 percent overall, 38.0 percent from three-point range. He ranked sixth in the league in three-point percentage. Jones had at least one three-pointer in a game 14 times, including a career-high four at New Haven. He scored a personal-high 13 points against Johnson & Wales.
Reynolds also played in 22 games, averaging 10.4 minutes. He contributed 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds, with 10 blocked shots and seven steals. Reynolds shot 47.5 percent from the field overall and scored a personal-best 13 points against Johnson & Wales. He added three steals in that game, while twice blocking two shots in a game, most recently at Wagner.
The second-seeded Blue Devils open the NEC Tournament against Wagner on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in New Britain. Tickets are available online at CCSUBlueDevils.com/ccsutickets.
