Iona men's and women's basketball standouts, coaches earn major 2022-23 MAAC awards
It's a great year to be a Gael.
Iona's men's and women's basketball teams were well-represented among the major individual awards announced by the MAAC on Wednesday afternoon.
On the men's side, Walter Clayton Jr. was awarded MAAC player of the year, and teammate Berrick JeanLouis was honored as MAAC co-defensive player of the year.
As for the women's basketball team, senior star Juana Camilion won both MAAC player of the year and MAAC defensive player of the year accolades.
Both head coaches, men's coach Rick Pitino, a repeat winner, and women's coach Billi Chambers, were named MAAC coaches of the year.
Clayton, a unanimous first-team All-MAAC selection, helped the Gaels capture the MAAC regular season title. The sophomore guard led the Gaels with 16.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while leading the nation at the free-throw line with a 94.4% conversion rate.
"If we win the MAAC Tournament that would mean a lot more to me, but obviously, I'm thankful to get this award," Clayton said. "I got a lot of great teammates around me, and I feel like they're a big part of the reason I got this award. Just honestly thankful."
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As for the MAAC women's player of the year, Camilion enjoyed her best season yet, sitting atop or in the top 10 of the MAAC in nearly every statistical category. Camilion is the first Gael to accomplish this feat since 2015.
A native of Palma De Mallorca, Spain, she led the Gaels with 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. She shot 46.7% overall and 36.3% from deep. She also repeats as the MAAC defensive player of the year, and ranked in the top 10 in both steals (1.9 per game) and blocks (0.8 per game).
She was a major catalyst in the women's team capturing their second MAAC regular season title in program history.
"I've been working hard since I got here, so it was exciting to finally hear that I accomplished that," Camilion said. "It's something I've been working for, especially this season. Receiving the news with the team was such a great moment for us and also a big boost for us going into the tournament.
"It is an honor. This school has done a lot for me, so it feels great to kind of leave my footprint."
As for the MAAC men's co-defensive player of the year, JeanLouis has garnered a reputation for being the Gaels' lockdown defender. He helped anchor Iona defensively and became only the second Iona men's basketball player to earn the award, joining Ricky Soliver, who achieved the feat in 2006.
"I just have the nobody's scoring on me mentality," JeanLouis said. "I just love it. I like guarding the best people. It's always been a thing for me, and I just carried it along with everything I've done in college."
Pitino was voted MAAC men's coach of the year, after leading the Gaels to another regular season title and No. 1 seed in the MAAC tournament. Iona finished 24-7 overall and 17-3 in conference play this season. The Gaels were the conference leader in 13 different team statistical categories.
As for Chambers, she earned the MAAC women's coach of the year award for the first time since her debut season in 2013-14. The Lady Gaels finished 23-6 overall, and 18-2 in the MAAC.
While these recent batch of awards are nice, there's no doubt both Iona teams have their sights set on qualifying for the Big Dance.
"It would mean the world to us," Camilion said. "We've been working really hard throughout the whole season, and we're ready."
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Iona men's, women's basketball stars, coaches win 2022-23 MAAC awards
