NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Iona College men's basketball freshman Schadrac Casimir was named a 2015 Kyle Macy Freshman All-America and a finalist for the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year by CollegeInsider.com, it was announced this morning. Casimir is one of 21 rookies and one of just three from a mid-major conference selected as Freshman All-America.
Casimir was the No. 3 scorer on the Maroon & Gold in 2014-15 averaging 14.5 points per game. A prolific shooter, he broke the single-season and single-game freshman three-point field goal marks at Iona. His 94 three-point field goals shattered former Iona standout Sean Armand's 61 set in 2010-11. After besting Armand’s single-game mark with eight vs. Delaware State and at Monmouth early in the season, Casimir broke it again with nine in a win over Marist at home on Feb. 8. The total also set a new Hynes Athletics Center record.
Nationally, Casimir ranked No. 9 in scoring among Division I freshmen and finished one three-pointer behind Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell for the rookie lead in the statistic. He was No. 1 in the MAAC and No. 10 in the nation in free throw percentage, converting 102-of-114 attempts for an Iona single-season record 89.5 FT%.
On Nov. 26, 2014, Casimir scored 40 points in a win over Delaware State setting a new Iona single-game freshman record. It was one of just 13 40+ point efforts in NCAA Division I this season.
Casimir's 508 points scored in his rookie season was No. 3 all-time at Iona behind Goal Club Hall of Famers Jeff Ruland (580, 22.3 ppg) and Gary Springer (577, 19.9 ppg).
The Kyle Macy award is presented annually to the top freshman in Division I college basketball. The 1975 Indiana "Mr. Basketball" played his freshman season at Purdue University. Macy averaged 13.8 points a game as a freshman, while leading the Boilermakers in free throws, shooting .859 percent from the line on the season. He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.
After playing his freshman year at Purdue, Macy transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1976. He started every game for the Wildcats in 1977. A three-time All-America and three-time All-SEC player, Macy was a member of Kentucky's 1978 National Championship team. In his senior year of 1979-80, he became the first Kentucky player ever to be named consensus Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.
The recipient of the 2015 award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet on April 3 in Indianapolis, site of the 2015 NCAA Championship.
2015 COLLEGEINSIDER.COM KYLE MACY FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky
Peyton Aldridge, Davidson
James Blackmon, Indiana
Devin Booker, Kentucky
Schadrac Casimir, Iona
Torin Dorn, Charlotte
Isaac Haas, Purdue
Daniel Hamilton, Connecticut
Stanley Johnson, Arizona
Tyus Jones, Duke
Kevon Looney, UCLA
Jahlil Okafor, Duke
Nick Norton, UAB
Jakob Poeltl, Utah
Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Florida State
D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State
Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga
Brenton Scott, Indiana State
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Justise Winslow, Duke