Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Match-up: The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team (17-10, 13-4 NEC) hosts Monmouth (15-13, 12-5 NEC) on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m., with the winner taking the top seed at next week's NEC Tournament.
The Knights are 8-2 at the Rothman Center this season, holding a 7-1 mark on their own hardwood against conference foes.
This is the 56th meeting between the teams, with the Knights holding a 30-25 lead in the all-time series. Last season, FDU and Monmouth split the tilts, with each team winning on the road.
The most recent meeting between the Hawks and the Knights, on Feb. 20, resulted in a double-overtime loss for FDU, 96-89, snapping the Knights' 11-game winning streak. The Knights were led by sophomore Bernell Murray, who had a career-night with 25 points, on the strength of a 7-for-9 effort from three-point range. Senior Chad Timberlake added 17 points and junior Michael Peeples notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Marquis Alston led the Hawks with 28 points.
NEC three-time Player of the Week Timberlake's 15.5 points per game lead Fairleigh Dickinson and rank fifth in the conference. Timberlake has received NEC Player of the Week honors three of the last four weeks, with his only week off going to Klaiber, who is averaging 14.8 points per game.
Crosariol is adding 10.5 ppg and leads the team with 6.4 rebounds per game. His 2.98 blocks per game lead the team, the conference and tie for 10th in the nation. The Knights as a team rank eighth in the nation in blocks.
Scouting the Opponent: The Hawks enter Monday's game with a 15-13 overall record, 12-5 in the league, and are most recently coming off a 74-68 win against St. Francis NY in Boylan Gym on Saturday, with Marques Alston leading the way with 16 points and seven rebounds. Dejan Delic came off the bench to tally 14 points.
Delic leads the team with 12.2 points per game, just ahead of Alston, who is averaging 12.0 ppg. John Bunch is leading the Hawks on the boards with 5.4 rebounds per game, while also leading the squad with a 55 percent field goal percentage.
Monmouth is 7-7 on the road, 5-3 in conference games away from Boylan Gym.
Home Sweet Home: The Knights are 8-2 at home this season and 9-3 all-time in hosting NEC Tournament games. FDU is 173-75 all-time (.698) at the Rothman Center since it opened in Sept 1987, including a 42-10 (.808) mark over the past four seasons, giving them their best home stretch since going 48-8 (.857) over their first four seasons in the building from 1987-88 to 90-91.
Winning Ways: The Knights have recorded 13 conference wins this season, matching the record. The Knights have recorded 13 NEC wins in five seasons since joining the conference in 1988-89.
Add A Shelf to the Trophy Case: Senior guard Chad Timberlake earned his third Choice Hotels Northeast Conference Player of the Week honor in four weeks, announced by the league on Monday, Feb. 20.
Timberlake averaged 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 57.1 percent from both the floor (12-21) and three-point range (4-7) as the Knights claimed a pair of road victories. On Thursday, Timberlake netted 15 of his 27 points in the second half as FDU rallied from a nine-point deficit to claim an 85-76 victory over Sacred Heart. He converted 8-9 shot opportunities, including 3-4 from long range, and added four rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Timberlake was saddled with foul trouble two nights later but still managed nine points, five rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes as FDU came away with a hard-fought 68-64 win over UW-Green Bay in a game resulting from the original eBay BracketBuster pool series.
Timberlake, who hails from Brooklyn, now ranks in the NEC top-15 in eight individual categories, including scoring (15.5 ppg; fifth), assists (4.0 apg; sixth), steals (1.68 spg; fifth), 3PFG percentage (.392;ninth), field goal percentage (.493; tenth), assist to turnover ratio (1.84;fourth), offensive rebounds (1.92; 12th), defensive rebounds and rebounding (5.2 rpg; 13th).
Top 25: The Knights rode an 11-game winning streak into the CollegeInsider.com top-25 Mid Major Programs Poll. The Knights, who are 17-9 overall, with a 13-3 mark in Northeast Conference action.
FDU had its 11-game winning streak, which ranked fourth in the country, snapped in a double-overtime battle at intrastate rival Monmouth University on Monday evening, 96-89.
The Knights play their final two games of the regular season this week, with one win clinching sole possession of first place, home court advantage through the NEC Tournament and a postseason nod to either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.
In the Nation: As of last week, Fairleigh Dickinson's 6.5 blocks per game rank eighth in the nation in NCAA Division I programs and junior Andrea Crosariol leads the team, the conference and ties for 10th in the nation with his 3.00 blocks per game. The Knights' three-point field goal percentage of 68.4 against Long Island on Feb. 9 ranks ninth as a team season-high.
Away from Home: Before the loss at Monmouth on Monday, Fairleigh Dickinson had won six straight road games, the longest such streak since Monmouth claimed six consecutive victories away from Boylan Gymnasium in 2002-03.
In the Last Five: Teams that have qualified For NEC Tournament in the last five years (2001-05)
All 5 Years: CCSU, Monmouth, St. Francis (NY), Wagner
4 Years: Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner
3 Years: Long Island, Robert Morris, SFPA
2 Years: Quinnipiac
1 Year: Mount St. Mary's, Sacred Heart (ineligible one year)
Pair of Aces: Seniors Gordon Klaiber and Chad Timberlake rank third in scoring duos in the NEC, averaging a combined 30.3 ppg.
Going Down in the Books: FDU senior forward Gordon Klaiber is second in the NEC with 1,512 points and senior guard Chad Timberlake is third (1,321 points),
Klaiber continues to build on his impressive career totals. The two-time first team all-NEC selection enters play this week with 653 boards (first among active NEC players).
He is just the ninth player in FDU history to amass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds and is just the 23rd player in NEC annals to reach 1,500 points and 500 rebounds.
Streaking Knights: Fairleigh Dickinson's 11-game winning streak was the fourth longest in NCAA Division I (see chart below) and the best for the program since winning 13 in 1953-54 under Head Coach Dick Holub. The school record for consecutive wins is 20, established in 1952-53.
It also marked the longest win streak by an NEC team since CCSU claimed 19 straight victories en-route to the 2002 league crown.
It was the longest single-season Division I men's basketball winning streak in the New York-New Jersey area since 1999-2000.
1. Hofstra (2000-01) 18
2. Manhattan (2002-03) 15
3. Manhattan (2001-02) 12
4. FDU (2005-06) 11
In the NEC: The Knights are 290-213 against current Northeast Conference members.
The Knights are ahead in the all-time series against every conference opponent: (Sacred Heart, 6-5), Central Conn. (13-8), Long Island (46-37), Monmouth (30-25), Mount St. Mary's (23-13), Quinnipiac (13-5), Robert Morris (27-25), St. Francis NY (49-27), St. Francis PA (35-32) and Wagner (46-36).
Last Time Out: The Knights fell to visiting Wagner College, 72-66, on Wednesday evening at the Rothman Center.
Four Knights scored in double-digits, with senior Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, MD/National Christian Academy)'s 18 points and nine rebounds leading the way. Junior Andrea Crosariol notched 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting and senior Chad Timberlake chipped in 13 points and five assists. Junior Michael Peeples added 13 points.
Fairleigh Dickinson started off the night reeling off the first eight points of the game. The Knights took a nine-point lead, 14-5, five minutes into the game after Klaiber converted an old fashioned three-point play.
The Seahawks stormed back into the game with a 17-2 run, capped by a trey from Matt Vitale, to take their first lead, 17-16. Four-straight points from Llewchean Radford gave Wagner a double-digit advantage, 28-18, with 6:32 remaining in the half.
The Knights were able to cut the Wagner edge to seven on a long three from Klaiber, but the Seahawks went into the half ahead, 36-27.
In the first 20 minutes, Wagner out-scored the Knights in the paint, 20-12, and was able to get 17 points from its bench.
The Knights staged a big run out of the break in the first two minutes of the second half, as they whittled Wagner's lead to three, 36-33. The Knights then showed flashes of the first-place team in the conference as they rattled off 10-straight, capped by a Peeples dunk from Timberlake, sophomore Bernell Murray finding Crosariol in the paint for a layup and Timberlake slamming in a dunk to tie the game at 43-43.
The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes with three ties. Joey Mundweiler netted a jumper to give Wagner a four-point lead, 52-48, but Klaiber responded with a jumper of his own to bring it back down to two.
Timberlake found Harris at the top of the key for a jumper that brought the Knights within one, 55-54, with 7:32 remaining, but Durell Vinson managed to convert a three-point play with 1:56 on the clock to give Wagner a five-point lead.
A dunk by Peeples gave the Knights hope, down three with 39 seconds remaining in the game, but the Seahawks scored the final three points of the game for the 72-66 win.
Wagner out-rebounded FDU, 43-28, and held the Knights to a trio of three-pointers. The Knights' defense forced 21 turnovers, while only giving the ball up 11 times.
Fairleigh Dickinson converted 20 points off turnovers while only giving up four in the second half.
Coach Green's Quotes on the Game: "We've had four games in seven days, three on the road," said Head Coach Tom Green. "This has been a crazy week for us, and we've hardly had any practice time." I'm not using fatigue as an excuse, though," said Green. "Wagner came in here and played hard, played smart and out-hustled us."
February Frenzy: The Knights have gone 7-2 of their games in the month of February.
Knights for THREE: The Knights connected on eight three-pointers against the Mount, while allowing only three of the Mount's shots from the perimeter. After shooting 30 percent from the beyond the arc in the first half, the Knights came back to make 5-of-9 in the second frame (55.6 percent).
Against Sacred Heart, the Knights again made eight treys, holding the Pioneers to two from the arc. The Knights held the Phoenix scoreless from three-point range in the first half, as UWGB went 0-for-6. The Knights continued to pressure the perimeter in the final 20 minutes as the Phoenix finished the game a combined 1-for-14 (7.1 percent).
The Knights held the Terriers to 1-of-10 from the three-point line, including blanking them from the perimeter in the second half. The 10% is a was a new team-best for perimeter defense, breaking the Knights' previous low, holding Quinnipiac to 4-of-18 (22%).
Climbing the Ladder: Andrea Crosariol has broken the all-time career blocks record, formerly held by current Assistant Coach Damari Riddick.
Gordon Klaiber now has 140 blocks during his career, for fourth place all-time at FDU. He is only the fourth player in program history to reach 1000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks.
Career Blocks
1. Andrea Crosariol `07 158
2. Damari Riddick `88 149
3. Rahshon Turner `98 144
4. Gordon Klaiber `06 140
Grab the Windex: Andrea Crosariol (Abano T., Italy/Long Island Lutheran)'s 15 rebounds against University of Wisconsin- Green Bay were a career-high and a team season-high.
Klaiber's Rise: Gordon Klaiber was tabbed as the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week,announced by the league on Feb. 13.
Klaiber's finest week of the season coincided with Fairleigh Dickinson's push to distance itself from its competitors as the Knights went 3-0 to extend their win streak to nine and take a 2.5 game lead in the NEC standings at 12-2 in league play.
Klaiber averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.3 blocks and shot 50.0 percent from the field, including 61.5 percent (8-13) from three-point range. He also made 22-26 from the charity stripe, an 84.6 percent success rate.
The senior forward scored 15 points and added three steals in the Knights' 93-78 victory over Robert Morris in Teaneck on Monday, then erupted for a season-high 30 points on 9-14 from the floor and 4-5 from long distance as FDU rolled past Long Island, 96-74, in Brooklyn on Thursday. To cap off the week, he tallied 23 of his 25 points in the second half and added nine boards to break open a close game and lead the Knights to a 69-58 conquest of Mount St. Mary's at the Rothman Center on Saturday.
Three of a Kind: FDU went 3-0 with convincing wins over Robert Morris (93-78), Long Island (96-74) and Mount St. Mary's (69-58). The FDU "Big Three" of seniors Gordon Klaiber and Chad Timberlake, along with junior center Andrea Crosariol combined to average 53.3 ppg, 18.4 rpg, 8.0 apg and 6.0 bpg. They also shot a red-hot 56.7 percent (55-97) from the floor, including 65.2 percent (15-23) from three-point range.
League Leaders: The Knights currently lead the Northeast Conference in four categories. The Knights are first in scoring offense (75.4), blocks (6.48 bpg), assists (15.81) and field goal percentage (.459).
FDU is second in scoring offense (75.2), rebound offense (37.0), assist to turnover ratio (1.06) and defensive rebounds (24.92).
Starting Off Right: After recording 20 points or more in eight games last season, as well as three games with 30 or more points, Gordon Klaiber was able to score a team-high 20 points against Maryland, a top-25 team known for its pressure defense.
Klaiber notched his season-high at Long Island, pouring in 30 points on a season-high nine made field goals. The senior forward also recorded season-highs of eight free throws and four three-pointers.
Block It Out: As a team, the Knights are first in the Northeast Conference and ranked eighth in the nation with 6.48 blocks per game.
Individually, the Knights hold the top two shot blockers in the conference in junior center Andrea Crosariol (2.96 bpg; first) and senior forward Gordon Klaiber, who is averaging 1.48 bpg for second in the league. Crosariol is tied for 10th in the nation in blocks per game.
The Knights posted a season-high 11 rejections against Robert Morris (1/28), led by Crosariol's career-high seven blocks.
In the win at Wagner, Crosariol broke his own single-season record for blocks, moving up to 57 (his previous record was 55 in 2004-05). Jonas Sinding had 64 blocks in 1997-98 for first in the single-season record books. Crosariol is two blocks away from becoming the all-time block leader at Fairleigh Dickinson, passing current Knights' Assistant Coach Damari Riddick's 149.
In the win against Sacred Heart (1/23), Crosariol and Klaiber each posted five blocks (a season-high for Klaiber) to account for all of the Knights' rejections. Crosariol notched a season-high seven blocks against Robert Morris (1/28).
Harris Provides the Spark: Junior forward Andre Harris has led the bench in 10 of the last 11 games.On the season, Harris has led the reserves in 15 games and the team in two games. He has scored in double-digits seven times this season.
Timberlake Takes Honors: Senior guard Chad Timberlake was named Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Feb. 6.
Timberlake led the streaking Knights into first place with a pair of wins two weeks ago, averaging 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He hit 55.2 percent of his shots from the floor and 80.0 percent from the line as Fairleigh Dickinson stretched its win streak to six and improved to 9-2 in league play.
In a 78-65 win over visiting Long Island on Thursday, he tallied 17 points (8-12 FG), eight rebounds and four assists, then erupted for a game-high 25 points and snared seven boards in the Knights' 87-72 conquest of Wagner in Staten Island on Saturday.
With the score deadlocked at 35-35 at intermission, Timberlake poured in 11 of FDU's first 15 points in the second half to help the Knights slowly pull away the Seahawks.
The following week, with Timberlake providing the impetus, Fairleigh Dickinson posted a 3-0 mark to stretch its win streak to four and move into a first place tie with Central Connecticut State at 7-2 in conference play.
Timberlake averaged 23.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.7 steals and shot 53.6 percent from the field in an outstanding all-around week.
He exploded for a career-high 32 points and added five rebounds, seven assists and two steals as the Knights subdued Sacred Heart, 81-73, at the Rothman Center on Monday, then tallied 23 points and nine boards in a 66-49 win at St. Francis (PA) three days later. In a battle for first place at Robert Morris on Saturday, Timberlake capped off his week with 14 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals. He scored the winning basket on a jumper in the lane with 12 seconds to play as the defending NEC champion Knights rallied from a six-point deficit in the final minute for an 84-83 victory.
Putting On a Show: The Knights' 56.1 percent from the floor (32-57) against Long Island was their highest field goal percentage of the year. The Knights had a season-low seven turnovers and took a season-low nine three-point attempts.
Fairleigh Dickinson also had three team season-highs against Robert Morris, dishing out 26 assists, grabbing 14 steals and making 38 field goals.
The Knights' previous best game-high field goal percentage, connecting on 34 of 62 attempts (54.8%), was at Robert Morris. The 11 blockswere also season-highs.
The Knights shattered several records against LIU, netting 34-of-54 attemtps from the floor for a 63 percentage. FDU made 13 three-point field goals for a new season-high in 19 attempts for a sesaon-high 68.4 percentage behind the arc.
On the Boards: The Knights out-rebounded the Red Flash by their largest margin, 42-27, helping to stage a 20-5 second-half run to take a dominating lead and break the tie out of halftime.
By the Numbers: The Knights are 14-2 when leading at the half and 1-8 when trailing at the half. FDU has been able to close out the opponent in late-game situations, going 16-1 when holding a lead with 5:00 left to play.
Recording New Highs: Senior guard Chad Timberlake recorded a new career high of 32 points against Sacred Heart, while shooting a season and team high of 24 field goal attempts and making a season and team high 13.
Senior forward Gordon Klaiber had a season-high five blocks.
Senior Standing: The game against Wagner on Feb. 22 marked the 10th time this season that the Knights' two seniors, guard Chad Timberlake and forward Gordon Klaiber, combined for more than 30 points.
The duo has joined forces for 20 or more points 18 times and are averaging a combined 30.3 ppg.
Double Down: Gordon Klaiber notched his second straight double-double and second of the season against Quinnipiac (1/12) with 18 points and a season-high 11 boards.
Against St. Francis PA on Jan. 5 , he recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds. In that game, he also matched his career-high with five assists.
Chad Timberlake led the Knights with his first double-double of the season in the win against St. Francis NY (1/20) with 15 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
Andrea Crosariol has given the Knights a team-high three double-doubles, with his last coming against University of Wisconsin- Green Bay (16 points, 15 rebounds).
Michael Peeples has registered two double-doubles, most recently postin 14 points and 10 rebounds.
In The Crowd: FDU has faced some big opponents this season in front of large audiences. The Knights, who started the season off at the Guardians Classic at WVU Coliseum, played in front of a crowd 18,833 strong at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY. That is the biggest stage of the season coming in before a 17,950 attendance at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland.
Big Man on Campus: In the Knights 74-58 victory over Lousiana-Monroe, junior Andrea Crosariol logged his first double-double of the season. Crosariol's 18-point, 11-rebound performance in 34 minutes of action proved to be the difference in the game as the 7-foot, 260 lbs. center out of Albano T., Italy shot 8-14 from the floor, was a perfect 2-2 from the line and grabbed seven of his 11 boards on the offensive end. Last season, Crosariol had two double-doubles all year.
Crosariol broke his career-high as he recorded 21 points against 10th-ranked Louisville on Dec. 28 at Freedom Hall. Crosariol was 10-of-14 from the floor, with his 10 made field goals also notching a career-high.
The center put in some quality minutes under the basket, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds in the win over Sacred Heart (1/23). The 12 boards are an individual team-high for the season as well.
Crosariol recorded his second double-double of the season at Long Island, despite playing with four fouls. He netted 10 points and grabbed 12 boards.
Get By With a Little Help: Fairleigh Dickinson's reserves dominated the opponent against Drexel as the Knights' bench out-scored Drexel, 23-3.
The bench provided 42 points against Dowling and was the team's second-straight game with 40 or more points coming off the bench.
Defensive Efforts: The Knights turned the ball over a then-season-low eight times against Mount St. Mary's, with only one of those turnovers being charged to a guard. Cameron Tyler dished out five assists in his 26 minutes without relinquishing the ball once.
The Knights then set a new season-low, coughing up the ball only seven times at Wagner.
Harris Takes Control: Junior forward Andre Harris had a career-night on Dec. 10, leading the Knights' to their second conference win against Mount St. Mary's. He notched a double-double with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first 20-point game of his career.
Timberlake Joins the Ranks of the Elite: Senior guard Chad Timberlake notched 11 points in the loss at Seton Hall on Dec. 5 and in doing so recorded his 1,000th point as a Knight.
The NEC tipped off the 2005-06 season with two returning players already ensconced in the 1,000-point club (Landy Thompson, Mt. St. Mary's; Gordon Klaiber, FDU). A total of four NEC players reached the 1,000-point plateau last year to raise membership to 122 since the league began sponsoring basketball in 1981.
D-Fense!: The Knights had more steals than Seton Hall (8-6), fewer turnovers (11-18) and more assists (12-10).
Welcome Back: Of the top-10 scorers in the NEC thus far in 2005-06, only two - Long Island senior James Williams and FDU senior forward Gordon Klaiber - finished in the top-10 a year ago.
Klaiber On the Move: A two-time first team all-NEC selection, Fairleigh Dickinson senior forward Gordon Klaiber will look to put a stamp on his career in 2005-06 as he attempts to lead the Knights to back-to-back conference championships. He entered the season as the NEC's leading active rebounder and second-leading scorer.
He is just the ninth player in FDU history to amass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds and is on pace to become just the 23rd player in NEC annals to reach 1,500 points and 500 rebounds and ninth player to hit 1,500 points and 750 rebounds.
Murray Steps Up: Sophomore guard Bernell Murray recorded the second and third blocks of his career against St. Francis NY on Jan. 20. The two blocks in a game were a career-high.
Murray scored eight of his ten points in the second overtime period to lead the Knights to victory against Canisius. He scored eight of the Knights' 11 points in the last five minutes, netting two free throws before sinking back-to-back three-pointers.
Career Production: Junior forward Michael Peeples had an outstanding night at Canisius, notching a career-high 18 points on a career-high seven made field goals. He tied his career-highs of two blocks, four assists and two three-point field goals.
In the Extra Period: The Knights' double-overtime victory against Canisius was their first game with extra periods this season. They are 1-1 in games that go into extra time after falling to Monmouth in double-overtime on Feb. 20.
Running Away With It: The 46-point win against Dowling was the Knights' largest margin of victory since defeating Hunter, 109-49, on February 22, 1964.
Clearing the Glass: Junior forward Andre Harris entered the half against Dowling with 10 rebounds, breaking his previous career-high of nine and finishing the game with a team-high 11 total boards.
Team Effort: All 11 players that dressed for the game against Dowling put points on the board. Nine Knights had scored going into the half and five players notched double-digit points.
He's Honored: Freshman Cameron Tyler was named the Northeast Conference Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21.
The six-foot freshman guard came off the bench to score 17 points on 7-13 shooting from the floor, to go along with three rebounds and a game-high six assists in 36 minutes of work.
Taking Charity: In his first seven games, freshman guard Cameron Tyler was sent to the charity stripe 44 times, hitting 36 of those for an 81.8 percentage.
FDU Chosen to Participate in ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday: Fairleigh Dickinson was chosen to represent the Northeast Conference in the fourth annual ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday on February 18, 2006. It marks the first time an NEC institution has been tabbed to participate in the event, which pits potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other three weeks prior to Selection Sunday and will feature 11 nationally televised games selected from an expanded pool of 100 teams representing 18 conferences.
"We're proud to have Fairleigh Dickinson represent the NEC in this year's Bracket Buster field," said John Iamarino, then- NEC Commissioner. "FDU's strong effort vs. Illinois in the NCAA Tournament is a good example of how the Knights have historically played well against good non-conference competition."
Fairleigh Dickinson, the defending NEC champion, will play on the road, did not learn of its opponen, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, until late January, approximately three weeks prior to the event. As part of the agreement, all 11 of the Bracket Buster Saturday home teams, as well as the remaining 39 home squads competing in non-televised contests, will play a "return" game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the following season.
The Bracket Buster has expanded each of the last three years, with 18 teams participating in the inaugural 2003 event, 46 in 2004 and 64 in 2005.
Collegehoops.net Predicts: The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team has been projected to win the 2005-06 Northeast Conference (NEC) championship by Collegehoops.net and is listed at No. 142 in their top 144 teams in 144 days college basketball preview. Collegehoops.net is a leading independent college basketball website.
NEC Preseason Poll: With three returning starters, including two preseason all-NEC picks, defending tournament champion Fairleigh Dickinson has been chosen as the 2005-06 NEC men's basketball preseason favorite, according to a vote of the league's head coaches. The preseason rankings, along with the league's preseason all-conference team, were announced during a media teleconference with coaches on Wednesday as a prelude to the NEC's 25th anniversary season.
Looking to become the first league team since Rider in 1993 and 1994 to repeat as NEC champion, Fairleigh Dickinson earned nine of a possible ten first place votes from league head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team.
Monmouth, last year's NEC regular season champion, finished tied for second in the poll with Wagner, which reached the 2005 NEC title game. The Seahawks received one first place vote, as did Long Island, which was picked fourth. Central Connecticut State and St. Francis (NY) finished tied for fifth in the poll, followed by Quinnipiac, Mount St. Mary's, St. Francis (PA), Robert Morris and Sacred Heart.
This marks the first time in 12 years and the third time in school history that Fairleigh Dickinson has been selected the NEC's preseason favorite by league head coaches.
Under the tutelage of 23rd year head coach Tom Green, the Fairleigh Dickinson program has captured four NEC championships, and has performed admirably in subsequent NCAA Tournament appearances on each occasion. Last March, the Knights trailed top-seeded Illinois by a single point at halftime before eventually succumbing, 67-55.
The Knights captured the 2005 NEC Tournament championship and earned the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1998. After finishing the regular season in second place, Fairleigh Dickinson defeated St. Francis NY (78-60), Long Island (70-62) and Wagner (58-52), all at home, to win the league crown.
Preseason Predictions: Five leading college basketball publications have selected the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team as the favorite to win the 2006 Northeast Conference title and return to the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, all five have tabbed senior forward Gordon Klaiber as the Preseason Player of the Year while two other Knights earned preseason all-conference honors.
The Knights were selected to capture first place in the Northeast Conference in Sporting News College Basketball preview. Sporting News also picked Klaiber to the Preseason All-Conference First Team and Player of the Year.
Fairleigh Dickinson was picked for a first-place finish in Athlon Sports and Street & Smith's College Basketball previews as well. In Street and Smith's forecast, Klaiber was selected to the All-NEC team and was tabbed as the top player in the conference. Athlon picked both Klaiber and senior guard Chad Timberlake to the All-Conference First Team and projected Klaiber to earn Player of the Year honors.
In the conference breakdown done by CBS Sportsline.com, FDU was chosen to finish at the top of the NEC. In the preseason picks, Timberlake and Klaiber were slotted in the first team, while Klaiber was tabbed as the Player of the Year.
In Lindy's Basketball preview, Fairleigh Dickinson was predicted to take first place in the conference and both Klaiber and Timberlake were selected to the All-Conference First Teams. Junior center Andrea Crosariol was honored with a second team prediction. Timberlake was given the superlative of "Most Versatile" in the magazine's honor roll and Klaiber was selected as the "Best NBA Prospect".
Knights in the NCAA Tournament: In their three previous trips to the NCAA Tournament (1985, 1988, 1998), all under current Head Coach Tom Green, the Knights have given each of their first round opponents a scare, but fell short.
NCAA Tournament History
2005 #1 Illinois 67, #16 FDU55
1998#2 UConn 93, #15 FDU 85
1988#1 Purdue 94, #16 FDU 79
1985#1 Michigan 59, #16 FDU 55
Knights for 20: The NEC Tournament Championship game victory over Wagner (3/9) gave the Knights their 20th win of 2004-05 Fairleigh Dickinson has reached the 20-win mark seven times, six times under current Head Coach Tom Green. The last time the Knights had won 20 was in 1997-98 when they finished 23-7 and made their last NCAA Tournament appearance.
Klaiber for Three: With 151 career three-pointers, Gordon Klaiber has cracked the top five all-time at FDU in that category, leaping into fourth all-time.
Career Three-Pointers Made
1. Brad McClain `92 187
2. Lionel Bomayako 159
3. Jermaine Slider `98 155
Pick-Pocket: Chad Timberlake now has 147 career steals, moving him into third place all-time at FDU. Next up to pass is Desi Wilson (`91), who has 177.
Career Steals
1. Dan Rosen `66 271
2. Desi Wilson `91 177
3. Chad Timberlake 147
4. Mel Hawkins `91 141
Elijah Allen `98 141
6. Gordon Klaiber 135
Helping Hand: Chad Timberlake now ranks seventh all-time at FDU in assists with 323.
Career Assists
1. Mel Hawkins `91 508
2. Marcus Whitake `04 417
3. Glenn Snape `82 414
4. Marcus Gaither `84 369
5. Elijah Allen `98 366
6. Mike Houston `83 340
7. Chad Timberlake 323
On the Boards: Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, MD/National Christian Academy)'s 657 career rebounds put him ninth all-time in the record books.
Career Rebounds
1. Greg Foster `84 1194
2. Reggie Foster `68 1045
3. Rahshon Turner `98 927
4. Jaime Latney `88 786
5. Desi Wilson `91 780
6. Damari Riddick `88 737
7. Sherman Edwards `77 692
8. Mike Payne `84 665
9. Gordon Klaiber 657
