Anosike To Receive ECAC Scholar-Athlete Award
MAAC Sports
Former Siena College standout men’s basketball player has been named one of two Robbins/ECAC 2013 Division I Scholar Athlete Award winners, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced.
A 6-8 forward, Anosike was the NCAA Division I’s rebounding leader in both his junior and senior seasons, becoming only the second student-athlete to do so in the past 40 years. Anosike averaged 13.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game as a senior, including 18 double-doubles. Anosike earned All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) second team honors, and was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 1 First Team following the 2012-13 season.
Anosike, who hails from Staten Island, N.Y., was a first-team All-MAAC choice following his junior campaign, when he led the nation in rebounding with 12.5 caroms per game, and averaged 15 points per outing. He recorded 23 double-doubles in his junior campaign, including a streak of 17 consecutive, the longest in Saints history and second longest in Division I in 15 years.
Anosike was also one of 30 candidates from across the country nominated for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, which measures success in the classroom, in athletic competition, in the community and an individual’s character. He was a MAAC All-Academic team selection, and graduated from Siena in May with an economics degree. His volunteer work in the community included working the Northeast Regional Foodbank, Ronald MacDonald House and with the Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center. He also visited and corresponded with area students as part of Siena’s Adopt-A-School program, and coached with the Colonie Shooting Stars, a basketball league with special needs children.
Dr. Kevin T. McGinnis, commissioner of the ECAC, also announced that former University of Delaware standout Elena Delle Donna will also receive the Robbins/ECAC Division I Scholar Athlete Award. Anosike and Delle Donna will be honored at the 2013 ECAC Honors Dinner on Sept. 29 in North Falmouth, Mass. Delle Donna was the 2013 Honda Award winner as the top collegiate women’s basketball player, and led Delaware to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2013.
The ECAC Scholar-Athlete Awards honor the outstanding academic and athletic achievements of student-athletes representing ECAC schools in Division I, II and III. One male and one female athlete from each division are selected based on extraordinary achievements in academics, athletics and community service. The candidate must have earned a cumulative minimum overall GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale and must have reached sophomore athletics and academic status (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and ineligible athletics transfers are not eligible). The candidate must be a starter or significant reserve in a particular sport and must compete in at least 50 percent of the contests in that sport and other factors such as community service, exemplary citizenship or other extracurricular activities are taken into consideration.