KUTZTOWN, PA (March 23, 2010) – Kutztown University senior guard Stephen Dennis was named the 2010 Daktronics Division II Men's Basketball Ron Lenz National Player of the Year Tuesday afternoon.
Dennis, a 6-foot, 6 inch guard, is the first student-athlete in the history of the Kutztown University men's basketball program to be named Daktronics Division II Men's Basketball Ron Lenz National Player of the Year. He received the nation's top honors after leading Division II in scoring (26.6 points per game) and helping the Golden Bears post a 23-8 overall record and earn a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II tournament.
“This is a great honor,” Dennis said. “It is really humbling and this honor means the world to me. I have been fortunate to play with great teammates and have good coaches. There are so many talented players on this level and to win this honor is pretty amazing. When coach told me about the award, all I could do was smile. This isn't a regular award. I am pleased and happy to be recognized as the Division II National Player of the Year.”
Dennis also averaged 5.8 rebounds per game, 4.5 assists per game and 2.1 steals per game. He also made an incredible 228 of 303 free-throws. Dennis broke his own school record for points scored in a season with 817 after scoring 710 points a year ago. He scored 30-or-more points nine times. He was previously named the Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year on March 11.
Dennis broke Kutztown's career scoring record and his 2,406 points ranks third in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) history. He was named the PSAC East Player of the Year this season, and was a four-time All-PSAC East selection. He earned first team honors the last three years after earning second team honors as a freshman in addition to being named the PSAC East Rookie of the Year.
He has been selected to participate in the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational and this Friday's NABC/Division II All-Star Game in Springfield (Mass.).
In addition, Dennis was named the 2010 Lehigh Valley Small College Player of the Year. During the season, he was named PSAC East Player of the Week five times and was featured in the Feb. 8 issue of Sports Illustrated. Dennis concluded his career by holding four school records.
The Daktronics' first team features five seniors. In fact, 13 of the 15 players to earn All-American status were in their final year. Dennis is joined on the Daktronics Division II All-America team by two-time selection Laurence Ekperigin of LeMoyne, Sanijay Watts of Central Missouri, Jason Westrol of Bentley and Darren Duncan of Merrimack.
Gage Daye of Bloomfield was selected to the second team, along with Jamar Smith of Southern Indiana, Kyle Moore of Tusculum, LaMarshall Corbett of Angelo State and Mike Dominguez of Mesa State.
The third team was Matt Rogers of Southwest Baptist, Ben Magden of Augusta State, Matt Schneck of St. Cloud State, Roman Andrade of New Mexico Highlands and Tyrone Curnell of Valdosta State.
The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The online nomination and voting processes are powered by ATHLETICSITE.COM. Headquartered in Charleston, S.C., ATHLETICSITE.COM is the official provider for college athletic websites for over 30 sports organizations, including 26 colleges, universities and conferences primarily at the NCAA Division II level. To receive more information on how your institution can partner with ATHLETICSITE.COM for a customized website solution, visit www.athleticsite.com.
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