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Four Guards, Two Forwards Earn Spot On All-Connecticut 6 Preseason Team
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Six student-athletes were selected to the 2010-11 All-Connecticut 6 preseason team on Thursday afternoon. Four guards and two forwards earned a spot on the team, which included last year’s Connecticut 6 Player of the Year Justin Rutty (Newburgh, N.Y.) from Quinnipiac University.
The team also includes Central Connecticut guard Shemik Thompson (Milton, Del.), Fairfield guard Derek Needham (Dolton, Ill.), Hartford guard Joe Zeglinski (Philadelphia, Pa.), Sacred Heart guard Jerrell Thompson (Plainfield, N.J.), Yale forward Greg Mangano (Orange, Conn.).
Rutty averaged a double-double for the 2009-10 season, posting 15.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. He shot 54 percent from the floor, which was tops among his teammates. The forward was also the Northeast Conference Player of the Year, the first Quinnipiac student-athlete to receive that recognition.
Shemik Thompson led all Blue Devils with 95 assists a year ago. He was also the team’s top scorer at 13.0 points per game, while placing third with 24 three-point shots. Thompson crashed the boards for 3.8 rebounds per contest.
Needham, who was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Year, led all Fairfield scorers with a 16.4 scoring average. He set a freshman scoring record at Fairfeild with 558 points and set a rookie standard with 177 assists. He was an All-MAAC second team player.
Zeglinski was the team’s top scorer as well, netting 16.5 points per game. He showed his shooting range with 98 three-point field goals, averaging better than three long-range jumpers per game. Zeglinski also recorded 48 assists and 6.1 caroms per contest in 2009-10.
Mangano appeared in 25 games and earned seven starts as a sophomore. He averaged 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. The forward shot 40 percent from the field overall, and posted a higher percentage in conference play at 42 percent.
Jerrell Thompson posted seven points per game and averaged a three-point basket per game as a junior. The guard made 42 percent of his three-point shots, and made 48 percent of his shots behind the arc during conference play. He was also dependable with the basketball, dishing off a team-high 133 assists.
All six student-athletes will be on the hardwood this Saturday, November 13 as the Connecticut 6 Classic tips off the season for all six teams. The college tripleheader takes place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Fairfield takes on Sacred Heart in the first game of the day, with game time slated for 4 pm. Hartford and Central Connecticut take the floor in the second game, scheduled for a 6 pm tip. The final game of the tripleheader includes Yale and Quinnipiac, with the game time listed at 8 pm.
Tickets for the Connecticut 6 Classic can be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com or at the Mohegan Sun box office. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students from participating schools.
