FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced Monday the 2018 NABC Coaches' Division III All-District teams and coaches, recognizing the best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes and coaches in the division, selected by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division III.
Earning First Team honors from the Northeast Region was Albertus Magnus College senior Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.). The latest honor for Walters comes after he was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive year in a row. Walters also received First Team All-Region honors by d3hoops.com, which was annoucned on Tuesday.
Walters, who was also named GNAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, enjoyed a banner season for the Falcons, who won the GNAC regular-season title. He was first among GNAC leaders in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 26.5 points and 15.0 boards per game. He was also efficient from the floor, ranking sixth in the league in shooting at 54.8 percent. A native of Hartford, Conn., Walters topped 30 points eight times, including three 40-point performances, and exceeded 20 rebounds five times. He had 24 double-doubles, including a 22-point, 25-rebound performance in the GNAC Championship game, which saw Albertus fall to Johnson & Wales University in an 84-80 thriller. This season in the win over Emmanuel (Mass.), Walters recorded 14 rebounds to become the third player in program history to record 1,000 career rebounds.
The men's basketball team ended the 2017-18 season with a 21-6 overall record and advanced to the GNAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed thanks to a 15-1 mark in league play. Albertus saw its season come to an end with a setback against Johnson & Wales in the GNAC Championship.
Walters was also selected to the Bevo Francis Top 25 Watch List on Thursday morning, which is awarded to the finest men's basketball players in the country who compete in the affiliations of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
The lone other GNAC student-athlete earning d3hoops.com All-Region recognition was 2018 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Mike Rapoza, a sophomore forward from Anna Maria College. Rapoza averaged 18.8 points and 14.1 rebounds this season for the AMCATS and was a Fourth Team choice.