HAMILTON, N.Y. (4/21/08) – The Colgate men's basketball team recently held its annual awards banquet at the Colgate Inn. The program honored the team's four seniors, and featured the presentation of the five major awards.
It was also a celebration of the 2007-08 season which saw the Raiders advance to the title contest of the Patriot League Tournament, and tied the school record of 18 wins in a season.
Colgate's four seniors honored were Kendall Chones (Cleveland, OH), Peter Minchella (West Lafayette, IN), Tim Pounds (Dudley, NC) and Daniel Waddy (Phoenix, AZ). They were presented with framed jerseys and watches as a small token of appreciation for their years of competition.
The Bob Duffy-Tucker Neale Award, given annually to the team's most valuable player was presented to Kyle Roemer (Martinez, CA) and Chones. Roemer was Colgate's leading scorer and second team all-Patriot League, while Chones finished his career as the 12th player in school record history to record over 1,000 points and grab over 500 rebounds.
The Coaches Award which goes to the best defensive player went to Pounds. He had the responsibility of guarding the opponent's best scoring threat throughout the season.
Roemer won the Hasan Brown Award, given to the player who best typifies the spirit of Colgate basketball through his hard work, intensity and commitment, while Minchella won the Jack Mitchell Award which goes to the senior who combines the best of both academics and athletics.
The Jack Bruen Award, given to the most improved player, was presented to Chones. He tallied a personal season-best 383 points and 175 rebounds for the Raiders. He was second in the Patriot League in field goal percentage (.559).
Players recognized during the banquet as statistical category leaders were Waddy for assists, Willie Morse (State College, PA) for free throw percentage, Alex Woodhouse (Alexandria, VA) for rebounds and Chones for field goal percentage.
Finally, Minchella was recognized for his selection to the Raider Academic Honor Roll for having a grade point average above 3.25, while Chones and Roemer were honored as the 24th and 25th players, respectively, to join the 1,000-point club.