[Kutztown Press Release] WASHINGTON WINS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR; ONE OF FOUR HONORED BY PSAC

[Leiboff, Joshua]

March 11, 2008
WASHINGTON WINS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR; ONE OF FOUR HONORED BY PSAC
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The Kutztown University men's basketball team produced its third straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division Rookie of the Year and three other Golden Bears were honored as the conference announced its postseason awards Tuesday.
Ryan Washington (r-fr. Glendale/Wissahickon), a transfer from Indiana (Pa.), earned the school's third consecutive rookie of the year award with his 9.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
KU's Stephen Dennis (so. West Chester/Henderson) was the 2006-07 rookie of the year and Dave Ben (jr. Coatesville/Coatesville) won the honor for the 2005-06 season. Both Dennis and Ben were named to this year's All-PSAC East first team, while Andre Woodlin (jr. Philadelphia/Central) was selected to be on the second team.
Washington, who won five PSAC East Rookie of the Week awards, was a force in the paint, blocking 38 shots - second to Dennis for the team lead. His average of 7.7 rebounds a game was a team high.
He was second on the team in shooting percentage, making 69-of-134 (51.5 percent) of his attempts from the field. Averaging 26.4 minutes per game, Washington had 61 assists and 29 steals for the Golden Bears.
His season highlight in scoring came in an overtime loss at the University of District Columbia on Jan.30, when he scored 19 points. He also had 13 rebounds in the game, for one of his three double-doubles. His best game along the boards came against Millersville on Feb. 20, when he pulled down 18 rebounds in an 80-67 loss.
Dennis finished as the team's leading scorer with 17.3 points per game, while Ben was second with 17.0 and Woodlin third with 13.7.
Dennis, a member of the division's second team last season, led the Golden Bears with 61 steals and 41 blocks. He also had 76 assists and a team-high 149 rebounds (5.7 per game).
Ben, who also was a first team member last season, led the team in assists (88), 3-pointers (40) and free throws (119), while averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. He climbed the school's all-time scoring list this season, moving into seventh place with his 1,342 points. Ben is one point away from tying Bilal Salaam (2001-05) for sixth place and 341 away from breaking Lock Jennings' record of 1,682 career points (1989-93).
The 6-foot-4 junior forward was the 18th player in school history to reach 1,000 points when he posted 16 in a 90-71 win at Chesnut Hill on Dec. 29. He also is in fifth place on the school's all-time rebounding list with 483 rebounds and is 48 away from tying Ben Arnold (2002-06) for fourth place.
Woodlin started in all 28 games for the Golden Bears and had 56 assists, 28 steals and a 5.3 rebound-per-game average. He played strong in KU's final 10 games, averaging 16.8 points a contest.
The quartet of Golden Bears helped KU capture its second PSAC East regular season title with a 10-2 record, matching the 1988 team's title campaign. KU shared the PSAC East title this season with Cheyney.
The Golden Bears finished with a 19-9 overall record, the second most wins in school history.
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Josh Leiboff
Kutztown University Sports Information
Phone: (610) 683-4182
Fax: (610) 683-4676
Email: leiboff at kutztown.edu
Website: http://www.kubears.com
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