Fairfield men take 3 individual MAAC awards

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Fairfield men's basketball team won three individual awards Thursday, the opening day of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament play.

Derek Needham was named MAAC Rookie of the Year, Anthony Johnson was Defensive Player of the Year and Mike Evanovich was Sixth Player of the Year.

The MAAC women's Player of the Year award was given to Marist forward Rachele Fitz, who won for the third consecutive season. She and former La Salle forward Lionel Simmons are the only men's or women's players to have won three Player of the Year awards.

Fairfield women's senior forward Stephanie Geehan won the Defensive Player of the Year award. She led the league with 3.4 blocks and 11.6 rebounds per game.

All of the awards, which are voted on by the league's coaches, were announced at a banquet at Times Union Center.

"I love what my kids are doing," said Fairfield coach Ed Cooley, whose team plays Saturday in the quarterfinals. "It just means a lot to me that other coaches recognized the job that we're doing."

Needham, a point guard from Dalton, Ill., ranked fifth in the MAAC in scoring with 15.9 points per game. After winning 10 Rookie of the Week awards, he was a virtual lock to win the yearly honor.

Evanovich, a senior forward, came off the bench to shoot 46 percent from 3-point range, and Johnson, also a senior forward, led the MAAC with 2.3 blocks per game. Johnson, who averaged 16.7 points and 10.3 rebounds, also was a candidate for the Player of the Year award, but that went to Siena senior forward Alex Franklin.

"It's a blessing," said Franklin, whose team is the No. 1 seed. "It's a great honor to represent the MAAC as the Player of the Year. I'm really happy about the opportunity. I'm actually kind of speechless about it."

This marks the second straight season the award has gone to a Siena player. Kenny Hasbrouck won last year.

Franklin ranks sixth in the MAAC in scoring and fifth in rebounding (7.8 rpg).

"I just couldn't be happier for him," Siena coach Fran McCaffery said. "He's been as consistent as any player I've ever coached, starting with a 20-point game in his first college game on the road against Stanford."

Along with Cooley, McCaffery figured to be a strong candidate for Coach of the Year after his team went a record 17-1 in conference play, but that award went to Iona's Kevin Willard. His team surpassed all expectations by finishing 21-9 overall and 12-6 in the league.