Louison and Megafu Named AD3I Co-Players of the Year; Cocozello Coach of the Year

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Recognizing their outstanding performances on the hardwood in helping lead the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team to an 18-9 record, junior David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) and sophomore Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) were named the Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) Co-Players of the Year and members of the All-Independent First Team while head coach Joseph Cocozello took home Coach of the Year honors in an announcement made by the Association releasing their 2014 All-Independent Teams.

Also honored were junior guard Vernon Maddox (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) who took home Second Team All-Independent honors, while sophomore Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) was named All-Independent Honorable Mention.

Louison, last year's All-Independent First Team selection and a USCAA First Team All-American this year, averaged a career- and team-high 18.3 points per game (No. 2 in AD3I) and secured 9.8 rebounds per game (No. 2 in AD3I). The six-time Player of the Week finished the season with 16 double-doubles and shot an impressive 54.4 percent from the floor.

The Student-Athlete of the Month for the month of January led the Bears in scoring and rebounding 13 times apiece and had ten games with 20 or more points. The HVIAC All-Conference selection led AD3I with 210 made field goals and 495 total points and scored his 1,000th career point with a 30-point outing in St. Joseph's win over Brooklyn College. Louison adds the Player of the Year award to his Rookie of the Year honor he received from the Association as a freshman.

Megafu, last year's Rookie of the Year and First Team selection, finished with a team-high 17 double-doubles on the season. The three-time Player of the Week and November Student-Athlete of the Month averaged a career-high 17.0 points per game and corralled a team-high 10.5 boards per game (No. 1 in AD3I).

The USCAA Second Team All-American selection led the Bears in scoring nine times and rebounding a team-high 17 times and finished with eight contests of 20 or more points. The HVIAC All-Conference selection concluded the season with 172 made field goals (No. 2 in AD3I), 283 total rebounds (No. 1 in AD3I) and shot 56.4 percent from the floor.

Cocozello receives his second straight Coach of the Year honor after also being named HVIAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career. The Coach of the Year accolade from AD3I is the third earned by Cocozello in his career. Cocozello guided the Bears to the highest winning percentage (.667) in a season during his 12-year tenure and led St. Joseph's to its first conference tournament title since 2010.

Maddox earns recognition from AD3I for the first time in his career after leading the team with 4.6 assists per game (No. 1 in AD3I), while also averaging a career-high 10.0 points per game. The junior produced a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and had 13 contests with five or more assists. The HVIAC All-Conference selection also led the team in assists in 20 of the Bears 27 games on the season.   

O'Neill, a Second Team selection a year ago, averaged 10.3 points per game in 25 starts. The sophomore led AD3I with 2.6 steals per game and also averaged 3.6 boards and 2.6 assists per game. The guard led the team with 36 made three-pointers and recorded his first career double-double against Sarah Lawrence.

The All-Independent Men's Basketball teams were selected by the men's basketball coaches from AD3I member schools.

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2014 ALL-INDEPENDENT MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: David Louison and Michael Megafu, St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn)  
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Brady Moses, Maranatha Baptist University  
COACH OF THE YEAR: Joseph Cocozello, St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn)