Sports
Former Colonial Wins A-10 Defensive Player of the Year
C.J. Aiken led St. Joe's to a 20-13 record.
St. Joe's will be sitting out March Madness this year for the seventh time in eight seasons, but it’s no fault of C.J. Aiken.
The sophomore standout who led Plymouth Whitemarsh High School to the 2010 PIAA Class AAAA championship, was named the A-10’s Defensive Player of the Year last week after making life miserable for opposing forwards the previous four months.
“I am happy to get this award,” the 6’9” Aiken told Philly.com after receiving the honor. “I have put in a lot of work.”
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Aikien averaged 11 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Hawks, and finished fourth in the nation with 3.7 blocks per game.
Despite falling short of an NCAA tournament invite, the Hawks (20-13) beat then 17th ranked Creighton 80-71 on Dec. 10 and topped No. 22 Temple 82-72 on Feb. 25. Though Aiken averaged only eight points and three rebounds in the two wins, his tenacious defense keyed each. In the win over Temple he blocked five shots.
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“When you block shots you feel the emotion,” said the NBA aspirant. “The crowd and your teammates get into it.”
Despite the NCAA snub, St. Joe's got a consolation prize in a No. 2 seed in the NIT. The Hawks will play Northern Iowa in the first round on March 14 at 7:15 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN3.
