NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
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Award details | |
Given for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Northeast Conference |
Country | United States |
History | |
First award | 1983 |
Most recent | Jerome Frink, LIU Brooklyn |
The Northeast Conference (NEC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual college basketball award given to the Northeast Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1982–83 season, when the league was known as the ECAC Metro Conference.
The most well-recognized NEC Player of the Year is Marist's Rik Smits, who won the award in 1987 and 1988. Smits went on to have a successful National Basketball Association (NBA) career for 12 seasons (1988–2000), all with the Indiana Pacers. In 1998, Smits was named an Eastern Conference All-Star.
LIU Brooklyn has the most all-time winners with eight while Robert Morris is in second with six. All charter members of the Northeast Conference that are still members have had at least one winner. Of current NEC members, only Bryant has never had a player of the year.