UTICA, NY – SUNYIT senior David Golembiowski (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent) has been selected to the 2011 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District East Region First Team and will now play in the NABC Reese's Division III College All-Star Game as a member of the East Team.
The All-Star game, which will feature 20 of the best seniors in the nation, will be held prior to the NCAA Division III men's basketball national championship game at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va., this Saturday, March 19. Participants of the contest will arrive in Salem two days prior to the game and will be involved in a community service project, hold an autograph session, attend the championship banquet and practice with their teams. Both squads will then square off at 1:00 pm, prior to the title game at 3:30 pm. Both contests will also be streamed live and can be viewed by clicking here.
After the NABC All-District First and Second Team selections were announced on Tuesday, two players from each of the eight regions were then chosen by the NABC nominating committee to compete in the Reese's All-Star game, with those players being announced today and can be viewed here. Also participating are the top-two vote getters from the NABC poll that was posted on D3Hoops.com and allowed fans to select two players for the game, as well as two seniors that will be chosen from teams eliminated in the national semifinals, for a total of 10 players per side.
The coaching staff for each side will consist of former coaches who have received the NABC Division III Distinguished Service Award, with the East team being coached by former Allegheny coach Phil Ness and assisted by former Albion coach Mike Turner, and the West squad being coached by former Muskingum coach Jim Burson and assisted by former Suffolk coach Jim Nelson.
Golembiowski has had an incredible four-year run as a member of the SUNYIT men's basketball team, beginning his career by winning three Rookie of the Year awards and going on to become the program's all-time leader in career points, rebounds, blocks and 3-pointers made. He was named the North Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the third straight season and also earned a third straight selection to the NEAC All-Conference First Team after leading the conference in both points and rebounds, while leading the Wildcats in points, rebounds, blocks and 3-pointers made. Additionally, the 6-foot-7 forward is currently fifth in the nation in points per game (24.6), while being 15th in double-doubles (15), 17th in rebounds per game (11.2) and 23rd in blocks per game (2.4).
This past Monday, Golembiowski was also named the D3Hoops.com All-East Region Player of the Year. He was recognized by D3Hoops.com throughout the season, as he was twice selected to its National Team of the Week, and was also chosen for four other player of the week awards on the year, including three NEAC Student-Athlete of the Week awards and one Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate Player of the Week honor.
Golembiowski, a four-year starter, was the first Wildcat to ever score 2,000 career points and finished with career averages of 20.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 2.6 3-pointers made in 105 contests, while boasting shooting averages of 49 percent from the field, 35 percent from beyond the arc and 76 percent from the free throw line.
The Wildcats finished the season 14-11 overall and made an appearance in the NEAC Tournament semifinals.