Hazell, Mitchell, Harvey Receive All-Met Recognition

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. Seton Hall men’s basketball sophomore Jeremy Hazell (Harlem, N.Y.) was named to the Division I All-Met First Team by the National Invitation Tournament and the Met Basketball Writers Association, it was announced on Wednesday.  Junior Robert Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was named to the All-Met Second Team, while junior Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) earned Third Team honors. 

Hazell and Mitchell will be honored at the All-Met banquet at the Stadium Club in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford on Wednesday night, April 15.

In 2008-09, Jeremy Hazell had one of the greatest offensive seasons in Seton Hall basketball history.  A Third Team All-BIG EAST selection, he averaged a conference second-best 22.7 points per game and became only the fifth player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points in his first two seasons.  A USBWA All-District 2 Team member, Hazell broke a single-season school record with 290 three-pointers attempted and tied the school mark with 105 three-pointers made.  Named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Nov. 24 for helping the Pirates to a third place finish at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, he was named to the conference’s Weekly Honor Roll three times.  Hazell scored at least 20 points in 24-of-32 games and at least 30 points in six games, which is the most 30-point games in a single-season since the 1981-82 campaign.  The 6-foot-5 guard scored 726 points last season, sixth-most in school history, and second-most by a Seton Hall sophomore.

In his first season as a Pirate, following his transfer from Duquesne University, Robert Mitchell averaged a team second-best 14.6 points per game and led Seton Hall with 8.0 rebounds per game.  The 6-foot-6 forward grabbed 239 rebounds in 2008-09, the most by a Pirate since the 2000-01 season.  Seton Hall’s leader with five double-doubles, Mitchell was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Jan. 26.  He scored at least 20 points, seven times this season and recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds vs. Syracuse in the second round of the 2009 BIG EAST Championship.  A strong all-around player, Mitchell also averaged 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

For the third consecutive season, junior Eugene Harvey averaged better than 12 points and four assists per game.  With a season-high 25 points in a victory over California Baptist on Dec. 9, he became the 36^th player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points.  Currently, he’s one of only 23 players in school history with over 1,300 career points and one of only five with over 1,300 career points and 400 career assists.  Named All-Met Rookie of the Year in 2007, this is the second straight year Harvey has been named to the All-Met Third Team.

Joining Hazell on the All-Met First Team are Charles Jenkins of Hofstra, Ryan Thompson of Rider, Paris Horne and D.J. Kennedy of St. John’s and Jaytornah Wisseh of LIU.  Joining Mitchell on the All-Met Second Team are Mike Rosario of Rutgers, Ryan Schneider of Marist, Darryl Crawford of Manhattan, Sean Baptiste of FDU and Wesley Jenkins of Saint Peter’s.  Joining Harvey on the All-Met Third Team are Jio Fontan of Fordham, Jason Miller of Columbia, Chris Smith of Manhattan, Scott Machado of Iona and Ricky Cadell of St. Francis. 

Charles Jenkins of Hofstra was named winner of the 76th Haggerty Award as the 2008-09 All-Met Division I Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year, while Rutgers’ Mike Rosario was named Rookie of the Year.

Tom Pecora of Hofstra won the Peter A. Carlesimo Coach of the Year award.

Voting for the All-Met teams was done by members of the media in the tri-state area.