Victor Ljuljdjuraj (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) of the seventh-ranked Albertus Magnus men's basketball team was named both the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year as announced by the league office on Monday. Ljuljdjuraj was also named to the GNAC All-Conference First-Team.
Ljuljdjuraj was most recently named the GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after the Falcons defeated Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in the GNAC Championship game. On the year, the senior averages 19.0 points, 10.9 rebounds and a nation-best 4.28 blocks per game. In fact, his 4.28 blocks per game tally is the best among all men's basketball divisions (I, II, and III).
He has posted 19 double-doubles so far this season, while shooting 57.2% from the floor. He also became the Falcons 14th all-time player to reach the 1,000-point milestone and did so in 58 games. Ljuljdjuraj was also named the 2014 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Teammate Tavon Sledge (Spring Valley, N.Y.) joins Ljuljdjuraj on the First Team, while Eian Davis (Brooklyn, Conn.) and Lemar Larsen (Waterbury, Conn.) earned Second Team honors.
Sledge is second among league leaders in scoring at 20.6 points per game to go along with 5.1 assists and a 51.6 field-goal percentage. He tallied a career-high 35 points on Saturday in the Falcons' Championship victory.
Davis, who earned First Team honors last season, is ranked in the top-10 of the nation in assists per game.
In addition, freshman Med Fofana earned a spot on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
This year marked the sixth time that a Falcon has received GNAC Player of the Year recognition, while it is also the third time an Albertus men's basketball player has earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
