Greg Rowson Named VaSID State Rookie of the Year; Joins Johnny Cronin on College Division All-State Team

Greg Rowson Named VaSID State Rookie of the Year; Joins Johnny Cronin on College Division All-State Team

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) announced the 2018-19 College Division All-State Men's Basketball Teams on Wednesday afternoon, highlighted by the selection of Buzz Anthony from Randolph-Macon College as the State Player of the Year. Mary Washington's Greg Rowson hauled in Rookie of the Year plaudits and Christopher Newport's John Krikorian was named Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season.

 

The ten All-State players selected to the first and second team hailed from eight different programs around the Commonwealth, including five different schools on the first team. Christopher Newport and Mary Washington each had a pair of All-State picks to lead the way in 2018-19.

 

Anthony was one of only three sophomores to earn All-American honors as he was selected a second team NABC pick following a sensational season. The Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year was an NABC All-South District and D3hoops.com All-South Region first team selection. He averaged 15.6 points per game and ranked seventh in the nation in assists with 120 for an average of 5.8 per outing. He also ranke in the top-ten nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.20) and led the Yellow Jackets in rebounding with 5.1 boards per game.

 

A 5-11 sophomore guard from Arnold, Md., Anthony started all 31 games and helped lead Randolph-Macon back to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship where they capped a strong season in the Round of 16. Led by Anthony, R-MC finished with a 27-4 overall record, just one win shy of the program record, while going 15-1 in ODAC play and capturing the league's regular season title.

 

Greg Rowson is just the second Mary Washington player in program history to collect VaSID Rookie of the Year plaudits, joining Mark Madison in 2016. A second team All-Conference selection in the Capital Athletic Conference, Rowson hauled in CAC Rookie of the Year honors as well. He ranked fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 16.2 points per game, while also ranking second on the team in rebounding with 5.2 boards per game. The dangerous first-year player shot 40% from beyond the arc and nearly 84% from the free-throw line while leading the Eagles to an 18-9 overall record.  

 

Rounding out the major award winners is Christopher Newport head coach John Krikorian, who hauled in his fourth straight VaSID Coach of the Year designation. He was also named the Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season after leading the Captains back to the NCAA Division III Final Four for the second time in four seasons. Christopher Newport finished the season ranked No. 3 after concluding the season with a 29-4 overall record, including a perfect 18-0 mark in home games. Under the direction of Krikorian, CNU won both the regular and postseason titles in the CAC. In a thrilling run to the national semifinals, the Captains picked up wins over top-twenty programs from the NESCAC in the sectional round of the tournament.  

 

A total of eight schools were represented on the 10-man All-State squad. Anthony earned first team honors and was joined by Marcus Carter (Christopher Newport), Josh Freund (Roanoke), Roy McMillan (Washington & Lee), and Daniel Spencer (Emory & Henry).  

 

Rowson was selected to the All-State second team and the rest of the team was comprised of Jason Aigner (Christopher Newport), Johnny Cronin (Mary Washington), Briggs Parris (Virginia-Wise), and Austin Wrighton (Lynchburg).

 

VaSID names 29 all-state teams in 16 sports each year, as well as an Academic All-State squad and an all-sports champion in both the University and College Divisions. Membership to VaSID is open to all media relations professionals working at a University or conference in the state of Virginia.

 

 

Complete team:

Player of the Year: Buzz Anthony – Randolph-Macon College

Coach of the Year: John Krikorian – Christopher Newport University

Rookie of the Year: Greg Rowson - University of Mary Washington

 

All-State First Team

Buzz Anthony - Randolph-Macon College

Marcus Carter - Christopher Newport University

Josh Freund - Roanoke College

Roy McMillan - Washington & Lee University

Daniel Spencer - Emory & Henry College

 

All-State Second Team

Jason Aigner - Christopher Newport University

Johnny Cronin - University of Mary Washington

Briggs Parris - University of Virginia at Wise

Greg Rowson - University of Mary Washington

Austin Wrighton - University of Lynchburg