April 12, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.; April 12, 2013 - Sophomore D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) was named Penn State Basketball's John Lawther Most Valuable Player Award winner Friday as the team handed out awards before several hundred supporters at the annual post season banquet sponsored by the Penn State Hoops Club.
"I thought the team was the best team it could be by the end of the year. Unfortunately, it didn't show up in the win column, but we were battling and we were right there," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. "I felt that we finished the season playing our best basketball and that's my goal as a coach."
Chambers' second Nittany Lion team posted a 10-21 mark after suffering the loss of All-Big Ten guard Tim Frazier to an Achilles injury in the fourth game. The Lions closed the season strong defeating No. 4-ranked and eventual NCAA Tournament runner-up Michigan in the Jordan Center to mark the program's highest ranked opponent ever beaten at home and winning their first Big Ten road game under Chambers at Northwestern.
"Now we can talk about next season, now we can talk about the future," Chambers said of a team that returns more than 80 percent of its scoring, rebounding and assists. "I think there's an excitement already and a buzz already, and I think people are anticipating a good year. There's a lot of great energy from the final end of the season. People are excited about next year, because they see D.J. (Newbill), Jermaine (Marshall), and Ross (Travis), how much better they got towards the end of the year."
Newbill, who was thrust into the role of point guard when Tim Frazier was lost, led Penn State in scoring (16.3 ppg) and assists (4.0 apg) and was the team's second leading rebounder (5.0 rpg). Newbill earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors after finishing fifth overall in scoring in the conference and posting double-digit points in 28 of 31 games, including the last 15 straight. Newbill's 10 20-point games on the year were the third most in the Big Ten in the regular season as he became the 17th Nittany Lion to record at least 500 points in a season, including a career high 27 vs. Michigan State. He also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for the first time.
"I told him right before the Big Ten tournament; I thanked him, I appreciated him for everything that he's been through this year on the floor and off the floor and the major changes that he had to make," Chambers said of Newbill. "He made huge changes to become the point guard. I'm not going to be afraid to play him at the point next year. I'm excited for him to play on the wing and I know he is too."
Junior Jermaine Marshall (Etters, Pa.) earned the team's Most Improved Player Award as he also earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors and teamed with Newbill to form the second highest scoring tandem in the Big Ten. Marshall finished sixth in the conference scoring 15.3 ppg and led Penn State for the second straight season with a career-best 59 threes. He also led the team and ranked seventh in the Big Ten in steals (1.5 spg). Marshall led Penn State in scoring in 14 games, including five 20-point or better outings, and had two double-doubles on the year, including a career-best 29 points and 10 rebounds vs. Michigan State. His career-best six threes and 25 points led the Lions in the upset of No. 4 Michigan.
Senior Sasa Borovnjak (Belgrade, Serbia) was named the team's Lou Lamie Most Inspirational Player Award winner after his strong play down the stretch of his final campaign. The team's third leading scorer in Big Ten play (8.4 ppg), he posted five double-digit scoring games in the final eight games of the season and was a key to the Lions' strong play late in the year. A starter in his final 23 games, he averaged 12.3 ppg while shooting 62 percent from the floor in the final eight games of the year, including career high 17-point outings at Michigan and at Illinois. He led Penn State in field goal percentage for the second straight season shooting 54.1 percent and finished his career third all-time at Penn State with a career shooting percentage of 54.2 percent. He also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for the second time on his career.
Senior Nick Colella (New Castle, Pa.) earned the Coaches Award as the former walk-on became a key component of the Nittany Lion nucleus starting the final 13 games of his career and leading the Lions shooting 47.6 percent from three over the final eight games. He finished second on the team with 33 threes on the year while leading the Lions shooting 35.9 percent from the arc on the year. He also led the team in charges taken (17) and dives (69) and was named a team captain. Colella posted a career-high 15 points in the win over Duquesne and had nine in the Lions' upset of No. 4 Michigan. He was also named an Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Sophomore Ross Travis (Chaska, Minn.) earned the team's Scholastic Achievement Award after garnering Academic All-Big Ten honors for the first time in his career by posting a cumulative grade-point average over 3.0. Travis also excelled on the court finishing fourth in the Big Ten in rebounding posting 7.4 rpg, the highest ranking and best average for a Lion since 2007. Travis led the Lions in rebounding in 19 games, posting five double-doubles and nine double-digit rebounding games on the year. Travis posted three double-doubles in his final seven games and averaged 9.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg over that span.
Sophomore Kevin Montminy (Centre Hall, Pa.) was named the winner of the Scrappiest Player Award sponsored by Steve Krentzman after the walk-on saw first half minutes in 12 Big Ten games and scored in five. Montminy's relentless and hardworking approach in practice and games not only earned him playing time but a myriad of cuts and bruises throughout the year and the respect of his teammates and coaches. A reliable and valuable player off the bench, he scored a career best five points vs. Iowa, saw action in 23 games on the year and was named an Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Junior Alan Wisniewski (Sterling Heights, Mich.) was named the Dave Phillips Memorial Unsung Hero Award winner. The walk-on industrial engineering major was a strong presence in practice and earned the first significant playing time of his career during the Big Ten season playing first half minutes in six games. In the first major action of his career, Wisniewski posted career highs of six points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes at Nebraska.
Penn State will return four of its top five scorers and rebounders as well as 80 percent or more of its points, rebounds and assists from a 2012-13 squad that posted a 10-21 record, but knocked off eventual NCAA finalist Michigan (84-78) in late February. Frazier, who ranked second in the Big Ten in scoring (18.8 ppg) and led the league in assists (6.2) in 2011-12, has petitioned the NCAA for a medical hardship waiver and fifth season of eligibility after playing in just four games in 2012-13 and is expected to return. He would join 2013 All-Big Ten honorable-mention honorees D.J. Newbill and Jermaine Marshall, who finished fifth (16.3 ppg) and sixth (15.3 ppg), respectively, in the Big Ten in scoring in 2012-13, to form one of the most potent backcourts in the nation. Sophomore forward Ross Travis, who finished fourth in the Big Ten in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and posted double-doubles in three of his last seven games, and Brandon Taylor, who made 32 threes in his freshman season, will anchor the frontcourt.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Associate Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist (@PSUSTRETCH) and the official Penn State men's basketball handle (@PennStateMBB) on Twitter and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.
-NITTANY LIONS-