Men's Basketball

Shasha Brown '13 Named NESCAC Rookie of the Year After Leading Wesleyan in Scoring, Assists & Steals

Leading Wesleyan in scoring with a 17.8 point average, which also ranked fourth among all NESCAC players, Shasha Brown '13 (#5, photo by SteveMcLaughlinPhotography.com) was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year after a vote of the conference coaches. He is the third Cardinal to received ROY honors in the NESCAC this year as goalie Adam Purdy '13 got the nod in men's soccer while Laura Kurash '13 was the women's soccer ROY during the fall campaign.

In addition to his scoring prowess, Brown led Wesleyan in assists with 3.92 a contest and steals with 1.56. Those figures rank him sixth and fourth, respectively, in the NESCAC. His solid .760 free-throw percentage puts him 11th in the conference as he was one of five among the top 15 to attempt at least 100 from the charity stripe. Brown's 1.66 assist-to-turnover ratio puts him fifth in the NESCAC.

Leading the team in points in 15 of the Cardinals' 25 contests during an 11-14 season, Brown's 17.8 PPG is the highest output ever recorded by a Wesleyan first-year player in men's basketball. His career high came in a 106-91 set back at NESCAC champion Williams on November 24 when he pumped in 35 points. He also hit for 30 points in a quadruple-overtime victory over Tufts Jan. 29, 98-93. Over the squad's 25 contests, Brown collected double-digit scoring 21 times.

Wesleyan's 11 victories in 2009-10 was the team's most in five years and helped put the Cardinals in the NESCAC tournament for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Wesleyan drew top-seeded Williams in the playoffs this year, dropping a 77-62 decision to the Ephs who entered the NCAA tournament with a 26-1 record and ranked second nationally in Division III.