The Manhattan College basketball teams have put on a show this season. Both the men and women programs have religiously won at home, while individual players have worn the Jasper jersey with pride and excellence.
Their accomplishments as a team and as individuals are listed below.
1,000 Point Club
Seniors Kayla Grimme, Amani Tatum and Rich Williams mounted career highlights this season, as each player scored their 1,000th point in a Jasper uniform on the hardcourt.
Grimme, a senior forward from Altoona, PA, scored her milestone back in November in a loss against Sacred Heart. The bucket was converted in classic fashion for Grimme; a three-pointer. Grimme scored 32 points in the game while snagging 13 rebounds.
Grimme later went on to score her 1,200th point and secure her 800th career rebound, becoming just one of just five Jaspers to do so, according to GoJaspers Instagram.
On the other hand, Williams became the 39th member of the men’s Jaspers 1,000 point club on Jan. 13 with a jump shot. Williams added 19 other points in the game while grabbing five rebounds and five assists.
Tatum was the most recent member as she scored her 1,000th point in the first quarter of the MAAC Tournament quarterfinals against Marist with a jump shot. She finished the final game of her playing career with nine points, five assists and four steals.
MAAC Individual Awards
Pauly Paulicap earned MAAC’s Defensive Player of the Year award. The sophomore’s elite rim-protecting ability and lock-down defense helped the Jaspers find success throughout the season.
Standing at a tall 6’8” and weighing 220 pounds, the transfer from Harcum College averaged a team-high 6.7 rebounds-per-game and 2.6 blocks-per-game.
The forward’s best games include 13 rebounds against Iona College and six blocks against Canisius.
Aside from defense, Paulicap was second in the MAAC for field goal percentage, converting on 56 percent of his attempts.
In addition to Paulicap’s honor, Gabby Cajou was named MAAC’s 6th Player of the Year.
The sophomore averaged 29.5 minutes-per-game while adding 8.1 points-per-game, 3.5 assists-per-game and 2.1 steals-per-game.
Becoming the first player in Jasper women’s history to win the award, Cajou added energy and athleticism to the team.
The 6th Player of the Year award honors the most valuable non-starter, as Cajou played 915 minutes throughout the season, only behind Tatum (1041 minutes) and Grimme (951 minutes).
All-MAAC Team Honors
On the women’s court, Grimme earned All-MAAC Second Team, Tatum clinched All-MAAC Third Team and Courtney Warley made the All-MAAC Rookie Team.
Capping off her historic career at Manhattan, Grimme averaged 14.8 points-per-game and 8.5 rebounds-per-game. Grimme also shot 43 percent from the field and 26 percent from beyond-the-arc.
These awards are not new to Grimme. In the 2016-2017 season the forward made the All-MAAC and All-Metropolitan Third Teams.
On the Third Team, Tatum averaged 12.9 points-per-game, 4.4 assists-per-game and nearly three steals-per-game.
On a team where stealing the ball was habitual, Tatum led the Jaspers, creating extra chances to score off of the fast-break all season long.
In late January against Monmouth this season, Tatum snagged eight steals en route to a Jaspers’ victory.
In 2015-2016, Tatum was the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, also making the All-MAAC Third Team.
For the Rookie-Team, Warley tallied 4.6 rebounds-per-game and 3.9 points-per-game while averaging 22.3 minutes played.
The 6’3” center from West Chester enjoyed a 14-point game verus LIU Brooklyn, a 12-rebound night versus Rider and a five-block contest while playing Canisius.
For men’s hoops, Williams joined the All-MAAC Second Team and Zane Waterman made the All-MAAC Third Team.
Williams averaged 14.7 points-per-game (ninth in the MAAC), with his best night coming against Quinnipiac at the end of the season where he scored 29 to help the Jaspers win in double-overtime. The highly versatile guard was a threat whether he was in the paint or behind-the-arc.
Over the season Williams shot 44 percent from three-point range.
Waterman had fun this season too.
The All-MAAC Third Team member for the second year in a row averaged 11.9 points-per-game, good for 19th in the MAAC, and 6.6 rebounds-per-game (tied for seventh in the MAAC).
Waterman’s best games include a 28-point performance while playing Monmouth and a 12-rebound game against back-to-back MAAC champions Iona.
Turner, Not Too Shabby Either
Zavier Turner on the men’s team was fourth in the MAAC for free-throw percentage, shooting 82 percent from the charity stripe. Turner scored 110 points from the line alone this season in only 134 attempts.
The point-guard also shot from distance at a impressive rate. Turner was seventh in the MAAC conference, converting on 44 percent of his attempts from three-point range and 52 percent overall. This season Turner hit 37-of-85 three-pointers, while his teammate Williams made 54-of-123 (fourth in MAAC).
Overall Records
As the regular season came to an end, the women Jaspers placed seventh in the MAAC before tournament play. The women were .500 during conference play at 9-9, and 13-18 overall. In Draddy Gymnasium, the team went 7-5, but they struggled outside of Riverdale, only winning four of the 16 road games.
For the men, the team placed fifth in the MAAC before the tournament. Like the women, the men went 9-9 against their own conference. Overall, the men were just below .500 this season as they finished 14-16.
Away from Draddy, the men’s program won 5-of-13 games, but found more success on their own court finding victory on 8-of-11 occasions.
Leaving Seniors
Next season, both the men and women’s teams will miss four seniors due to eligibility and graduation.
The women are losing Grimme (C), Tatum (G), Mikki Guiton (C) and Taylor Williams (G).
Combined, these seniors contributed 36.5 point-per-game, 6.9 assists-per-game, 17.8 rebounds-per-game, 4.5 steals-per-game and 2.5 blocks-per-game on average.
The men’s team will part ways with Calvin Crawford (F), Turner (G), Waterman (F) and Williams (G).
As for the men, these seniors bring a combined 56 points-per-game, 9.4 assists-per-game, 18.2 rebounds-per-game, 2.8 steals-per-game and 0.6 blocks-per-game on average.
Conclusion
With tournament season behind us and no MAAC Championships for either team, the Jaspers have still had historical and honorable seasons.
*All stats are according to ESPN.com