Emerson Men’s Basketball Players Chase, Dawkins Named to ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-District Team

Two Emerson College men’s basketball players have been named to the ESPN: The Magazine Academic All- District team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).  Senior Ben Chase of Newburybort, Mass. was a first team selection and senior Will Dawkins from Springfield, Mass. earned second team accolades.

This is the second consecutive year Chase has been a first team All-District selection.  He has had a stellar senior season, averaging 18.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.  A double major of Marketing and Television/Video, Chase has compiled a 3.78 grade point average through his college career.  He has been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Week twice this season and has been on the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll three other times.  For the week ending January 20, 2008, Chase was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference New England Division III Player of the Week.  He was the most valuable player of the Vassar College Tip-off Tournament in 2007 and is the only three-year captain in the program’s history.  Chase is a member of the Emerson College Gold Key Honor Society, and has been named to the Dean’s List (3.7 GPA or better) six of his seven semesters.  By virtue of his being named to the first team, Chase’s name will be forwarded to the national Academic All-America ballot.

Dawkins makes the team for the first time. Currently in fourth on Emerson’s career scoring list, he scored his 1,500th point on January 29th.  He is averaging 17 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and has tallied a team-high 92 assists in 19 games.  A co-captain with Chase, Dawkins has been a GNAC All- Star in both 2006 and 2007, and was the GNAC Player of the Week for the week ending February 3.  Dawkins is a two time Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar and a three-year member of the Emerson Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  He is a Broadcast Journalism major with a 3.51 grade point average and has made the Emerson Dean’s list each of his last two semesters.

The men’s basketball team is currently having the best season in the history of the program.  Headed into a February 7 game with Albertus Magnus College, Emerson is 16-3 overall, 7-3 in GNAC play, and currently in second place in the league standings.