Phil Grant and Thazina Cook Named 2019 Iona College MAAC Basketball Honor Roll Inductees
Phil Grant and Thazina Cook Named 2019 Iona College MAAC Basketball Honor Roll Inductees
EDISON, N.J. – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced Phil Grant and Thazina Cook of Iona College will be inducted into the 2019 MAAC Honor Roll. Honorees will be enshrined in “The MAAC Experience” exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 14.
Each member institution of the MAAC honors one male and one female from its basketball “family” as part of the 2019 induction class. A dinner event takes place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Court of Dreams to recognize the Honor Roll inductees.
Each honoree will also be profiled in the game program for the 2020 MAAC Basketball Championships and will be featured in a video display at “The MAAC Experience.”
Phil Grant ’01
Phil Grant is one of just six players in Iona men’s basketball history to win at least three MAAC men’s basketball tournament championships and is currently one of just 15 overall in the league’s 38-year history. After capturing his third title as a senior in 2001, he and teammate Nakiea Miller ’01 became just the fourth and fifth MAAC players to accomplish the feat, joining a trio of LaSalle performers from earlier in the decade.
As a freshman, Grant helped lead the Gaels to the MAAC title in 1998 as the Gaels defeated Siena on their home floor en route to a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup vs. Syracuse. The Maroon & Gold won championship finals over the Saints again at Pepsi Arena in 2000 and Canisius at HSBC Arena in 2001 before taking on Maryland and Ole Miss in the NCAA tournament. The Gaels lost in heartbreaking fashion against both the Orange and the Rebels by two points in each contest. Grant won the MAAC championships alongside a series of legendary Gael student-athletes and fellow 1,000-point scorers Miller, 1998 MAAC Player of the Year Kashif Hameed ’99 and 2000 MAAC Player of Year Tariq Kirksay ’00.
Grant scored 1,039 points, the 26th player in program history to record 1,000 or more points. At the time of his graduation, he was No. 3 all-time in games played. He grabbed 503 rebounds, dished out 265 assists and recorded 100 steals in his Iona career. Grant averaged a career-best 10.6 points per game as a junior and 6.8 rebounds per game as a senior.
Thazina Cook ’10
Thazina Cook was a four-year standout performer for the Maroon & Gold from 2006-2010. She earned two All-MAAC First Team honors as a junior and senior in 2009 and 2010. Cook is one of five Iona women’s basketball players to earn at least two All-MAAC First Team distinctions. The other Gaels accompanying her in the elite group include: Joy Adams ’16, Marina Lizarazu ’17, Damika Martinez ’15 and Martina Weber ’07. Cook was also voted to the 2010 MAAC All-Tournament team.
Cook currently ranks 14th all-time at Iona with 1,283 points. She has the sixth-highest three-point shooting percentage in school history at 36.2% and made 297 free throws in her career, the ninth most in program history. In true parallel to her hard work and tenacity, Cook is top 10 all-time in steals and games played. On February 8, 2008, Cook recorded 10 steals against Fairfield to set the single-game Iona record.
During her four years in New Rochelle, the Maroon & Gold posted an overall record of 77-44 including 47-25 in MAAC play. The Gaels finished above .500 in both overall and league play in each season she played, the only four-year stretch in program history the feat was accomplished.
Cook also took part in a piece of program history. In 2007, Iona women’s basketball won its first-ever national postseason game in a first-round win over LIU Brooklyn in the WNIT. The Gaels also participated in the WNIT in her sophomore season, earning a win over Quinnipiac on the road in the first-round matchup between future MAAC rivals.
| 2019 MAAC Basketball Honor Roll Class (to date) |
| Institution |
Name |
| Canisius |
Brian Dux |
| Canisius |
Patricia Aronson |
| Fairfield |
Troy Bradford |
| Fairfield |
Christine Fryer-Paprocky |
| Iona |
Phil Grant |
| Iona |
Thazina Cook |
| Manhattan |
Tim Cain |
| Manhattan |
Sandy Gordon |
| Monmouth |
Marques Alston |
| Monmouth |
Jewonda Bright Jenkins |
| Niagara |
Joseph Arlauckas |
| Niagara |
Jessica Kemp |
| Quinnipiac |
Jack McDonald |
| Quinnipiac |
Kim Misiaszek |
| Saint Peter’s |
Jasper Walker |
| Saint Peter’s |
Stephanie DeWolfe |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39
th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.