On the heels of claiming the 2014 Northeast Conference regular-season championship, a pair from the Robert Morris University men’s basketball team garnered postseason awards Tuesday in a vote of league head coaches. Senior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, Ind. / Glen Oaks Community College) was selected the 2014 NEC Player of the Year, and fourth-year head coach Andrew Toole was tabbed the 2014 Jim Phelan NEC Coach of the Year.
Anderson, who was also named to the 2014 All-NEC First Team, was joined by junior forward Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) in earning postseason accolades, as Jones garnered a spot on the 2014 All-NEC Second Team.
A 6’2″, 190-pound shooting guard, Anderson is the sixth player from Robert Morris to be named NEC Player of the Year, joining Chipper Harris (1984), Vaughn Luton (1989), Myron Walker (1992), Tony Lee (2008) and Jeremy Chappell (2009).
Anderson has put forth arguably the most explosive offensive season in RMU’s 38-year Division I history, as he enters the 2014 NEC Tournament leading the conference in scoring at 19.6 points per game and is looking to become the fourth player in league history to shoot at least 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from beyond the arc. Anderson is shooting 51.4 percent (217-for-422) from the field, including 46.4 percent (103-for-222) from deep, and enters the 2014 NEC Tournament ranked fourth in NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percentage and 10th in three-point field goals made per game (3.32).
Anderson has established a new Robert Morris single-season school record for three-pointers this season with 103, and thanks to his 21-point performance at Wagner (3/1/14) in RMU’s regular-season finale produced his 15th game of the year eclipsing the 20-point plateau, tying a single-season mark. In addition against the Seahawks, Anderson became the 23rd player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points, as he has scored 1,020 in two seasons at Robert Morris.
Also in reach for Anderson are single-season school records for points and field goals, as his 607 points on the year leaves him seven shy of the mark of 614 that was established by former guard Myron Walker (1990-94) as a sophomore in 1991-92. Thanks to a total of 217 field goals on the season, Anderson currently slots fifth in the RMU single-season record book. The record of 233 was established by former guard Chipper Harris (1980-84) as a senior in 1983-84.
Toole is the fourth coach in program history to garner NEC Coach of the Year accolades, joining Matt Furjanic (1983), Jarrett Durham (1989, 1990) and Mike Rice (2008, 2009). Toole has guided the Colonials to an overall record of 19-12 (.613) this season and helped RMU earn its second consecutive NEC regular-season championship and fifth in seven years with a mark of 14-2 (.875) in league play. In four seasons on the sidelines at Robert Morris, Toole owns an overall record of 87-48 (.644), including a mark of 53-17 (.757) against league opponents.
In earning his third straight All-NEC accolade, the 6’6″, 210-pound Jones earns a spot on the 2014 All-NEC Second Team a year after garnering All-NEC Third Team honors. Jones enters the 2014 NEC Tournament averaging 13.3 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game and has posted five double-doubles this season and seven on his career. One of just 13 players in program history to eclipse career totals of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, Jones is RMU’s active leader in both categories, as he ranks 18th all-time at Robert Morris for career points (1,102) and seventh in career rebounds (625).
Robert Morris opens the 2014 NEC Tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson Wednesday, March 5, at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Tip is 7:00 p.m.