The awards continue to roll in for senior forward Jordan McDaniel of the Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team, and the latest is a big one as the Scarlet Raider star was named a first-team National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-American over the weekend.
The three-year Rutgers-Newark standout was also named a third-team D3hoops.com All-American Saturday night - just hours after he poured in a game-high 26 points in the Reese's NABC Senior All-Star game.
McDaniel becomes the first-ever Rutgers-Newark men's basketball first-team All-American after guiding the Scarlet Raiders to a 20-8 season - their third 20-win campaign in the last four years.
The Colonia, N.J. native was the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Player of the Year, first-team All-NJAC, first-team D3hoops.com All-Region and a 2015-16 NABC Senior All-Star prior to receiving these latest accolades from the NABC and D3hoops.com.
A 6-5 forward, McDaniel was one of just eight first-team All-Americans in the entire nation selected by member coaches of the NABC. All eight first-teamers were the District Player of the Year in their respective region with McDaniel earning the honor out of the Atlantic.
McDaniel was the only NJAC player named first-team All-District with guard Armin Cane (Stockton University), guard Bright Mensah (William Paterson University) and guard Eric Murdock Jr. (The College of New Jersey) netting second-team All-Atlantic accolades.
McDaniel's 2015-16 Honors...so far (click the links to read the other announcements)
NJAC Player of the Year
First-team All-NJAC
D3hoops.com first-team All-Atlantic Region
Reese's NABC Senior All-Star
First-team NABC All-American (this release)
Third-Team D3hoops.com All-American (this release)
McDaniel led the Scarlet Raiders in scoring (21.4 points per game), rebounding (6.9 rebounds per game) and blocked shots (30), sitting top-three on the team in steals (27) and assists (1.4 per game) as well. He led his conference in scoring and was fifth in field-goal percentage, converting at an amazingly efficient 53 percent clip for the season. The Colonia native poured in 600 points on just 381 total field-goal attempts, ranking third in the league in blocked shots, second in minutes and fifth in rebounding.
As a team, the Scarlet Raiders reached the semifinals of the NJAC and ECAC Metro/Upstate tournaments, compiling a record of 14-4 in conference games.
McDaniel finished the year with four double-doubles and at least 15 points and five rebounds in 19 different games. A two-time first-team all-conference performer, McDaniel scored 30 points or more five different times this season and dropped 20 or more in 16 games, even scoring 18 on 7-of-13 shooting in the team's season-opener against DI Rutgers University (New Brunswick). He also led the Scarlet Raiders with 50 made three-pointers, shooting 38.8 percent from distance which was top-10 in the conference.
Nationally, McDaniel finished his season 17th in free throw attempts, 19th in total points, 25th in made free throws, 34th in points per game and 45th in minutes played. The veteran was able to pour in the 19th highest point total in all of NCAA Division III Men's Basketball, but needed only the 83rd-most field-goal attempts to do so.
McDaniel averaged 21.5 points on 55.9 percent shooting in 18 conference contests this year, shooting 40.5 percent from deep in the NJAC. He also averaged 22.3 points in three postseason outings. The veteran graduates from the Rutgers-Newark men's basketball program with 1,284 points in three seasons, adding 460 rebounds, 83 assists, 78 blocked shots and 59 steals.
After scoring 44 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in his team's double overtime win at Ramapo College in the regular-season finale, McDaniel was named the Met Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week and was named to the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week.
Scarlet Raider men's basketball fans should continue to check www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com for additional postseason honors over the next few weeks and can also follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter for the latest.
Photo of Jordan McDaniel by Larry Levanti, Rutgers University-Newark Athletics
