April 3, 2007
PRESTOSPORTS/PRIDE OF MARYLAND
ALL-MARYLAND TEAM
Top Division III Men's College Basketball Players in Maryland
Honored
Hood's Jesse Gutekunst Named Player of the Year
ROCKVILLE, Md. - The PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland All-Maryland team has been selected by a panel of media members from across the state. Four of the five members of the 2006-07 PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland First-Team hail from the Old Line State. In all, eight of the ten student-athletes honored are from Maryland. Additionally, eight of the nine Pride of Maryland schools placed at least one student-athlete on either the First or Second Team.
Highlighting the First Team is PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Year Jesse Gutekunst (Hagerstown, Md./Hagerstown South) of Hood College. Joining him on the First Team are Joey Breslin (Hagerstown, Md./St. Maria Goretti) of Washington College, Matt Griffin (Glen Mills, Pa./Penncrest) of Johns Hopkins University, Ryan Junghans (Derwood, Md./Magruder) of Hood College and Steven Segears (Lanham, Md./St. John's College HS) of Villa Julie College.
Gutekunst, a 6'8" junior center, was the unanimous selection as the Player of the Year. He started all 29 games for the Blazers, who reached the NCAA Tournament in just the fourth year of the program's existence. Gutekunst averaged a double-double this season, with 19.0 points and a team-high 11.4 rebounds per contest. Additionally, he was a presence in the lane, with 57 blocked shots. Twice he was named PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Week, twice to the D3Hoops.com Team of the Week, and twice Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Additionally, he was named to the First Team All-Conference and D3Hoops.com's First Team All-Region.
Breslin, a 6'7" 200-pound senior forward, led the Shoremen with 19.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He finished second in the Centennial Conference in scoring and earned Second Team All-Conference accolades. Twice he was named Conference Player of the Week, once as the PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Week.
Griffin led the Blue Jays to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A 6'7", 225-pound senior center, Griffin ranked fifth in the country in field goal percentage (64.9%). A two-time First Team All-Centennial Conference selection, he added 5.2 rebounds per game. Twice he was named Conference Player of the Week and twice PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Week. Nationally, he earned Honorable Mention All-American honors according to D3Hoops.com, was a finalist for prestigious Jostens Player of the Year award, and earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American status.
Junghans combined with Gutekunst to provide a strong inside-out combination for the Blazers. Junghans, a 5'10" sophomore guard, led Hood with 20.5 points per game. He shot 47 percent from the field, including 90 three-point field goals. He added 59 assists and 33 steals. An All-Conference First Team selection, he earned the PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Week award once this year.
Segears was instrumental in the Mustangs' success, as they won the NEAC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. A 6'5", 190-pound guard, he lead the team in scoring (16.4 ppg), rebounding (9.6 rpg), assists (91), steals (44) and minutes played (30.8 mpg). He was named to the First Team All-NEAC this year, and earned the PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Week once.
The 2006-2007 All-Maryland Second Team is also a strong unit. The team is comprised of McDaniel College sophomore guard Ryan Brandenburg (Mount Airy, Md./Urbana), St. Mary's College of Maryland junior guard Tyson Lesesne (Edgewood, Md./Edgewood), Johns Hopkins University senior forward Danny Nawrocki Syosset, N.Y./Chaminade), Goucher College senior guard James Russo (Cockeysville, Md./Dulaney) and Salisbury University senior guard Ray Williams (Hanover, Md./Fort Meade).
FIRST TEAM ALL-MARYLAND
Player Year Pos. Ht. Hometown/High School
*Jesse Gutekunst, Hood Jr. C 6'8" Hagerstown, Md./Hagerstown South
Joey Breslin, Washington Sr. F 6'7" Hagerstown, Md./St. Maria Goretti
Matt Griffin, Johns Hopkins Sr. C 6'7" Glen Mills, Pa./Penncrest
Ryan Junghans, Hood So. G 5'10" Derwood, Md./Magruder
Steven Segears, Villa Julie Gr. G 6'5" Lanham, Md./St. John's College HS
SECOND TEAM ALL-MARYLAND
Player Year Pos. Ht. Hometown/High School
Ryan Brandenburg, McDaniel So. G 5'9" Mount Airy, Md./Urbana
Tyson Lesesne, St. Mary's (MD) Jr. G 6'1" Edgewood, Md./Edgewood
#Danny Nawrocki, Johns Hopkins Sr. F 6'6" Syosset, N.Y./Chaminade
James Russo, Goucher Sr. G 6'3" Cockeysville, Md./Dulaney
Ray Williams, Salisbury Sr. G 5'10" Hanover, Md./Fort Meade
* Indicates 2006-07 PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Year
# Indicates 2006 Provident Bank Pride of Maryland Division III Scholarship Tournament Most Valuable Player
The Pride of Maryland is comprised of the nine NCAA Division III men's basketball schools in the state. They are Frostburg State University, Goucher College, Hood College, Johns Hopkins University, McDaniel College, Salisbury University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, Villa Julie College and Washington College.
Bill Nelson, men's basketball coach at Johns Hopkins University,
and Brett Adams, athletic director and men's basketball coach at
Villa Julie College, came up with the idea more than 10 years ago.
The tournament is to combine collegiate athletic competition,
community involvement, and academic scholarship and recognition.
Adams and Nelson felt that the State of Maryland presented a unique
opportunity, due to the ideal number of men's Division III teams.
In the fall of 2005, Villa Julie College defeated Johns Hopkins
University in overtime to win the inaugural title. During
Thanksgiving week in 2006, Provident Bank stepped in as title
sponsor of the Tournament as Johns Hopkins defeated Salisbury to
earn the title "Division III Maryland State Champion."
The Provident Bank Pride of Maryland web site can be accessed at www.providentpride.com
About PrestoSports
PrestoSports is proud to sponsor the Provident Bank Pride of Maryland Tournament, the PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Week and the PrestoSports Pride of Maryland All-Maryland Team.
Based in Rockville, Md., PrestoSports is a leading provider of athletic content management software to colleges and conference offices used for designing, building and maintaining official athletic websites. With clients across the country, PrestoSports focuses on smaller schools and conferences in NCAA Divisions II and III.
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