Empire 8 Announces 2008 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team
February 28, 2008
ROCHESTER, NY – Junior guard Sean Burton of Ithaca College was named Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Player of the Year as the conference named its all-conference team. Shane Foster of Rochester Institute of Technology and Ozell Franklin of St. John Fisher College shared Rookie of the Year honors. Jim Mullins, who led Ithaca to the top seed in the Empire 8 tournament, was recognized as Coach of the Year.
Burton, a repeat first-team choice, enters the conference tournament averaging 19.8 points, 5.6 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. He has connected on 72 three-pointers and is shooting 88.2 percent from the free throw line (112-of-127). Burton scored 37 points and handed out 11 assists when the Bombers hosted St. John Fisher, their semifinal opponent in the upcoming conference tournament.
Junior forward Jeff Bostic of Ithaca joined Burton on the all-conference first team for the second consecutive year. He enters tournament play averaging 13.9 points and a conference-best 11.7 rebounds per game, shooting 55.2 percent from the field. He pulled down 20 boards in the final regular season game as the Bombers clinched the top seed.
Junior Doug Herring of Utica College repeated as a first-team all-conference selection. He averaged 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game, while shooting 42.2 percent from three-point range and 70.9 percent from the free throw line.
2007 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Corey McAdam of Nazareth College received first-team honors. McAdam enters conference tournament play leading the conference and ranked second in Division III in assists (8.8 per game). He is averaging 13.6 points, 5.6 rebounds per game, and ranks 14th in the nation with 2.9 steals per game.
Waleed Farid of Stevens Institute of Technology was the only senior named to the all-conference first team. He is averaging 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.6 steals per game in leading the Ducks to a 12-4 mark and the second seed in the Empire 8 tournament in their first year of conference play.
Foster finished the regular season averaging 7.4 points per game for the Tigers, shooting 41.5 percent from three-point range and 80.4 percent from the free throw line. Franklin averaged 7.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game for the Cardinals, hitting 28 three-pointers.
Mullins, who led the Bombers to their most regular season wins (17) since 1997, guided Ithaca to a five-game winning streak entering the conference tournament.
2008 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Honors
Player of the Year: Sean Burton, Ithaca College
Co-Rookie of the Year: Shane Foster, Rochester Institute of Technology
Co-Rookie of the Year: Ozell Franklin, St. John Fisher College
Coach of the Year: Jim Mullins, Ithaca College