2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships Digital Program

2022–23 CANISIUS MEN’S & WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

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PLAYER TO WATCH Canisius graduate Vannessa Garrelts is in her first season with the Canisius women’s basketball program. Garrelts joined the Golden Griffins’ roster for the 2022 23 season after playing four years at Miami (Ohio). In her time at Canisius, Garrelts has made an impact, as she ranks as one of the Griffs’ top-three scorers and rebounders. Among players in the MAAC, she ranks among the conference’s top-25 players in scoring, rebounding, assists per game, steals per game and minutes per game. In her time at Miami (Ohio), Garrelts played in 82 career games, where she made eight starts. Off the court, she served as Miami’s female representative Mid-American Conference Council of Student-Athletes and she earned the President's Award for Service and Leadership after the 2021-22 academic year. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in sport administration at Canisius. NOTABLE ALUMNI Shauna (Geronzin) Green is in her first season as the head coach of the Illinois women’s basketball team. Green was named the Fighting Illini’s head coach on March 21, 2022 after six seasons as the head coach at Dayton. At Dayton, Green led the Flyers to five Atlantic 10 regular season championships and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In 2021-22, the three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year led the Flyers to the Atlantic 10 championship and an opening round victory in the NCAA Tournament, finishing the season with a final record of 26-6. As a Griff, Green was a four-time letterwinner from 1998-2002, earning All-MAAC honors each year, including three times being selected First-Team All-MAAC. She is the program’s all-time leading scorer, with 2,012 points, and was inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

QUICK FACTS LOCATION BUFFALO, NY NICKNAME GOLDEN GRIFFINS COLORS BLUE AND GOLD YEAR FOUNDED 1870 PRESIDENT STEVE K. STOUTE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR BILL MAHER HOME ARENA KOESSLER ATHLETIC CENTER (2,196)

MEN’S ROSTER

WOMEN’S ROSTER

No.

Name

Cl. So.

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown/High School/Previous School

No.

Name

Cl. So.

Pos.

Ht.

Hometown/High School/Previous School

0 1 2 3 4 5

Tre Dinkins

G 6-2 180 Chester, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara/Harcum Junior College G 6-3 180 Los Angeles, Calif./Narbonne/TMG Prep Academy G 6-1 172 Wilmington, Del./Bishop McNamara/Kennesaw State

2 3 4 5

Lydia Gattozzi

G 5-10 Chardon, Ohio/Beaumont

Devean Williams

Fr.

Brooklyn Thrash

Fr.

G/F 6-0 Wayne, Ohio/Elmwood

Jamir Moultrie

Gr. Gr.

Vannessa Garrelts

Gr.

G 5-4 Spring Grove, Ill./Marian Central Catholic/Miami (Ohio)

Jordan Henderson

G 6-5 190 Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/Indiana Elite Prep

Athina Lexa

So.

G 5-9 Thessaloniki, Greece/Hellenic College

Youri Fritz

Fr.

F

6-9 190 Tiel, Netherlands/Leidsche Rijn College

10 11 13 14 15 20 22 23 24 33 34

Giana Hernandez-Boulden Jr.

G 6-1 Hamilton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy/Rhode Island

Siem Uijtendaal

Jr.

G 6-6 185 Haarlem, Netherlands/BC Apollo Amsterdam

Hannah Dolan

So. So.

G 5-10 Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South

10 11 12 21 22 23 25 44

Jacco Fritz

Sr.

F

6-10 215 Tiel, Netherlands/DME Academy (Fla.)

Xanthippi Karatasiou

G 5-9 Katerini, Greece/High School of Kontariotissa

Michael DiGiulio

So.

G 6-0 170 Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South/Kent State G 6-7 190 Dallas, Texas/The Colony/Clarendon Comm. College G 6-7 195 New York, N.Y./St. Andrew’s Episcopal/George Mason

Sisi Eleko

Fr.

F

6-2 Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy

Bryce Okpoh

Jr.

Elia Paez

So.

G 5-9 Sabadell, Spain/CN Sabadell

TJ Gadsden

So.

Jane McCauley

Sr.

G 5-9 New Rochelle, N.Y./The Ursuline School/Vermont

George Maslennikov

Gr.

F F

6-10 240 Odessa, Ukraine/Holy Spirit Prep (Ga.)/Saddleback JC

Dani Haskell

Jr.

G 5-6 Franklinville, N.Y./Franklinville

Frank Mitchell

So. So.

6-8 240 Toronto, Ontario/Oakville Prep/Humber College

Adrien LaMora

Fr.

F

5-11 Philadelphia, N.Y./Indian River

PLAYER TO WATCH Jordan Henderson is playing in his fifth MAAC Tournament, making him just the fourth player in school history to earn that distinction. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Henderson became the 40th player in the program’s history to score 1,000-career points after he hit a 3-point field goal in the Griffs’ game against Rider on Dec. 31, 2022. One of the MAAC’s top 3-point shooting threats, Henderson is one of five players in program history to make 180-or more career 3-point field goals. He is also one of 11 players in school history to play more than 120 career games as a Griff. Henderson earned his undergraduate degree in psychology in May 2022, and he is currently pursuing his master’s degree clinical mental health counseling. NOTABLE ALUMNI Jordan Heath ’14 is in his ninth season of professional basketball. A two-year letterwinner for the Griffs from 2012-14, Heath is currently one of three American-born players on the Kawaski Brave Thunders roster in the Japan B-League. In his time in Japan, Heath has played a role in helping the franchise win back-to-back Emperor’s Cup championships, and he was honored as the Japan B-League’s postseason MVP in 2021-22. He also played in Belgium, Switzerland and Hungary. As a Griff, Heath averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in 65 career games. In his senior season (2013-14), Heath ranked third in the MAAC in 55th in the nation in blocks per game. On Jan. 10, 2014, he set the program record for blocks in a game with nine in an overtime victory over Rider.

Xzavier Long

G 6-7 190 Washington, D.C./Virginia Academy

Cheyenne Stubbs

So. So.

G 5-5 Bradenton, Fla./Braden River

Tahj Staveskie

R-Fr. G 6-0 165 Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky/SPIRE Institute

Rhay Porter

F F

6-1 Scotia, N.Y./Wilbraham and Monson Academy

Chloe Chard Peloquin

Fr.

6-3 Johnstown, Ohio/Newark Catholic

Head Coach: Reggie Witherspoon (Empire State, ’95) – Seventh Season at Canisius, Twenty-First Season Overall Assistant Coach: Chris Hawkins (Radford, ’92) – Seventh Season at Canisius , Thurman Schaetzle (Mercyhurst, ’11) – Fifth Season at Canisius, Calvin Cage (Buffalo, ’06) – Fourth Season at Canisius Graduate Assistant Manager: Quinn Imiola (Canisius, ’21) – First Sseason at Canisius Athletic Trainer: Adam Mourgas (Canisius, ’17) – First Season at Canisius Student Managers: Brandon DuFour ’26, Shane Hurd ’23, Ryan Jubulis ’25, Luca Militello ’23, Jasper Torres ’23

Head Coach: Sahar Nusseibeh (American ‘09) – Second Season at Canisius Assistant Coach: Jared Zeidman (Quinnipiac ‘08) – Second Season at Canisius , Krista Beechy (Grove City ’10) – Second Season at Canisius, Shareese Ulis-McBrayer (Cincinnati ‘11) – First Season at Canisius Director of Basketball Operations: Cat Almeida (Quinnipiac ’22) – First Season at Canisius Athletic Trainer: Taylor Kenney (Cortland ‘19) – Third Season at Canisius

HEAD COACH SAHAR NUSSEIBEH

HEAD COACH REGGIE WITHERSPOON Canisius head coach Reggie Witherspoon, a

Sahar Nusseibeh is in her second season as the head coach of the Canisius women’s basketball program. Nusseibeh was officially named the 10th head coach in program history on July 23, 2021. A long-time assistant coach with 12 years of Division I coaching experience, Nusseibeh took over the Canisius program after spending the previous two seasons at Miami University where she also held the title of defensive coordinator. In her first season on Main Street (2021-22), Nusseibeh led the Blue and Gold to a MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship opening round win, becoming the first No. 11 seed to win a game in the tournament’s history. Two Golden Griffins also received all-conference accolades as Dani Haskell was named an All-MAAC Third Team honoree and Athina Lexa was a unanimous selection to the All MAAC Rookie Team.

Buffalo native and a 26-year veteran of the college basketball coaching ranks, was named the 24th head coach in Canisius College men’s basketball history on May 28, 2016. Now in his seventh-season as head coach of the Golden Griffins, Witherspoon is just the eighth head coach in program history to lead the Blue and Gold in six-or more years. Earlier this year, Witherspoon became just the fifth head coach in program history to win 90-or more career games. In his time at Canisius, Witherspoon has guided the program to more than 60 career MAAC regular-season victories, making him one of two head coaches in program history to reach that milestone. Under his guidance, the Griffs have earned a share of the MAAC regular-season championship (2017-18) and the team has made a pair of national postseason appearances (CIT in 2016-17, CBI in 2017-18).

@GOGRIFFS @GRIFFS_MBB @GRIFFSWBB

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@GOGRIFFS @GRIFFS_MBB @GRIFFSWBB

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2023 | HERCULES TIRES MAAC MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 41