PITMAN—William Paterson University senor forward Abdoulaye Ouedraogo has been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference “Pony Wilson” Men’s Basketball Player of the Year for the 2009-10 season. In addition, Ouedraogo was also selected as the conference Defensive Player of the Year. In total, 15 student-athletes garnered all-conference honors in men’s basketball during the 2009-10 season. All selections were made by vote of the league’s 10 head coaches.
A two-time first-team all-conference selection, Ouedraogo currently ranks second in the NJAC in blocked shots (2.15 per game), sixth in rebounding (7.3 per game), seventh in field goal percentage (.534), 12th in minutes played (28.92 per game), and 17th in scoring (10.2 points per game). In NJAC regular season conference play, Ouedraogo posted conference-best statistics in both blocks (2.62 per game), and offensive rebounds (3.54 per game).
New Jersey City University freshman forward Isaiah Johnson was selected as the league Rookie of the Year, marking the second consecutive year that a Gothic Knight rookie has been tapped as the league’s top first-year player. A four-time NJAC Rookie of the Week selection during the 2009-10 season, he currently ranks fifth in the conference in offensive rebounds (2.74 per game), ninth in overall rebounding (6.5 per game), and 16th in blocked shots (0.61). In NJAC regular season conference play, Johnson ranked fourth in the league in rebounding with an average of 7.7 boards per game.
William Paterson University head coach Jose Rebimbas was named the “John K. Adams” Coach of the Year by his peers. Rebimbas has guided the Pioneers to a 24-2 overall record, the NJAC North Division Championship via a 12-1 conference record, and the top-overall seed in the 2009-10 NJAC Tournament. William Paterson, which advanced to the NJAC Championship Game via a 55-37 semifinal victory over Ramapo on February 24, will host Richard Stockton for the NJAC crown and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament on February 27. Now in his 15th season at the helm of the William Paterson program, Rebimbas has accumulated an overall career head coaching record of 300-133.