The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced Tuesday night that Canisius senior forward Phil Valenti has been named to the Preseason All-MAAC Third-Team as part of the league’s 2016-17 Preseason Awards Show, which aired live on ESPN3. The preseason All-MAAC teams were voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
Canisius’ top returning scorer and rebounder, Valenti was good for 14.6 points and 6.1 boards per contest last season in his junior campaign. The Victor, New York native posted double-digits in the scoring column 24 times last year, highlighted by his career-high 33-point effort in the Golden Griffins’ MAAC Tournament win over Niagara. He ended the season by shooting 46.4 percent from the field, which ranked 12th best in the conference, and his 2.0 assists per game ranked second-best among frontcourt players in the league. This marks the second-straight season where Valenti has earned Preseason All-MAAC Third-Team honors.
Valenti is joined on the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team by Iona’s Deyshonee Much, Antwon Portley and Trevis Wyche from Saint Peter’s and Marquis Wright from Siena. Monmouth senior guard Justin Robinson was a unanimous choice as the 2016-17 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year.
As a team, Canisius was picked to finish ninth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Monmouth, the MAAC’s defending regular-season champions, were picked to win the league’s crown with 119 points and nine first-place votes. Siena was tabbed to finish second with 109 points and two first-place nods, while Iona (99), Saint Peter’s (86) and Fairfield (76) took spots three through five. Manhattan (71) was picked sixth, followed by Rider (50), Marist (37) and Canisius (35). Quinnipiac (28) and Niagara (16) rounded out the 11-team field.
Canisius will play host to Ryerson for an exhibition game in the Koessler Athletic Center on Nov. 7. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. The Griffs are set to officially open the 113th season in school history Nov. 13 at Kentucky. That game will be broadcast live on ESPN2, with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
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