2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships Digital Program

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

MEN’S ROSTER

WOMEN’S ROSTER No. Name Cl.

QUICK FACTS LOCATION NEW ROCHELLE, NY NICKNAME GAELS COLORS MAROON & GOLD YEAR FOUNDED 1940 PRESIDENT SEAMUS CAREY, PH.D. ATHLETIC DIRECTOR MATTHEW GLOVASKI HOME ARENA HYNES CENTER (2,578)

No.

Name

Cl. Gr. So. Fr. Fr. Sr.

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown/High School/Previous School Lehigh Acres, FL/Florida Southwestern State

Pos.

Ht.

Hometown/High School/Previous School

0 1 2 3 4 5

Berrick JeanLouis Walter Clayton Jr.

G 6-4 200 G 6-3 195

1 2 3 4 5

Natalia Otkhmezuri

Sr.

G 5-8 Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia/No. 100 Public/Southern Utah

PLAYER TO WATCH Juana Camilion, the 2021-22 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, has cemented herself as one of the top players in program history, and is an integral piece of a dangerous Iona team looking to win its second MAAC Championship. Camilion serves as team captain, is a four-time All-MAAC selection and is a top 10 scorer in program history. As a junior, the Palma de Mallorca, Spain native became the 28th Gael in program history to join the 1,000-point club. In six career MAAC Championship games, Camilion has averaged 15.2 points per game. One of the best performances of her career came in 2019, a 26-point effort that helped Iona upset seventh-seeded Siena in the opening round of the 2018–19 MAAC Championship. standout for the Maroon & Gold. She ranks third on Iona's all-time scoring list with 1,894 career points. Timoney ranks in the top five in categories including field goals made, three-point field goal percentage, free throw attempts and made, and games played. As a freshman, Timoney was named the 1986 MAAC Rookie of the Year. After graduation, Timoney served for two years as a graduate assistant coach with Iona from 1989-91. She is currently the CEO for Heineken Ireland, the first female ever to hold the prestigious position with the company. She also serves as a member of Iona University's Board of Trustees. NOTABLE ALUMNI Maggie Timoney '89, '92 MBA was a four-year

Lake Wales, FL/Bartow

Petra Oborilova

Fr.

F

6-2 Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Stredna Sportova Skola

Sadiku Ibine Ayo

F

6-6 210

Asabi-Kumasi, Ghana/Our Saviour Lutheran (NY)

Addy Salzer

So.

G 5-11 Saint Bonifacius, MN/Waconia

Cruz Davis

G 6-3 175 G 6-2 178 G 6-4 175

Plano, TX/iSchool of Lewisville/Huntington Prep (WV)

Ale Civera

Fr.

G 5-10 Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset

Parker Weiss

Naples, FL/Community School of Naples

Thoranna Hodge-Carr

So. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. So. So. Fr.

G 5-8 Keflavík, Iceland/Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja

Daniss Jenkins Quinn Slazinski Anton Brookshire Nelly Junior Joseph Keither Florence Silas Sunday James Carey Osborn Shema Michael Jefferson

Jr.

Dallas, TX/Odessa Coll./Pacific/Dallas Hillcrest

11 15 21 22 30 32 34 35

Isabelle Lipinski

F

6-2 Farmington, CT/Farmington/Franklin Pierce

11 12 13 23 24 33 44 55

Sr.

F

6-9 225

Houston, TX/Louisville

Kate Mager

G 5-9 New City, NY/Albertus Magnus/Merrimack

So.

G 6-2 175

Springfield, MO/Kickapoo/Missouri

Amaya Evans

G 5-4 Neptune, NJ/Neptune

Jr.

F F F F

6-10 245 6-7 210 6-7 210 7-0 270

Benin City, Nigeria/NBA Academy Africa (Senegal)

Juana Camilion Ketsia Athias Judith Gomez Marina Cenis

G 5-10 Palma de Mallorca, Spain/IES Antonio Maura

So. Fr. Fr. Sr. Sr.

Sulphur Springs, TX/Sulphur Springs/NW Florida State Wichita, KS/Pro Holmes Sports Acad./Colorado Prep

F/C 6-2 Brooklyn, NY/James Madison/NYIT

G 5-9 Barcelona, Spain/IES Francesca Macià

Lucan, Ireland/Our Saviour Lutheran (NY)

G 5-7 Zaragoza, Spain/Colegio San Agustin Zaragoza

G 5-10 165

Pelham, NY/Gettysburg College (PA)

Noa Givon

Fr.

G 5-10 Raanana, Israel/Ostrovski

PLAYER TO WATCH Junior Nelly Junior Joseph, is a two-time All-MAAC selection, earning All-Rookie team honors as a freshman and First Team honors after his sophomore campaign. He was 2022-23 Preseason All-MAAC First Team selection and the 2020-21 MAAC Rookie of the Year. During the 2022-23 campaign he earned four straight MAAC Player of the Week honors becoming just the second player in the 42-year history of the conference to win as many in a row. For the second straight season Junior Joseph is in the top 10 in multiple statistical categories including scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals, blocked shots and double doubles. A game-changer on both ends of the floor, the Gaels’ success this season is directly related to Junior Joseph's performance. He is a part of CollegeInsider.com's Lou Henson Award Watch List, an award for the the Mid-Major Player of the Year. NOTABLE ALUMNI One of the finest all-around players to ever wear the Iona uniform, Jeff Ruland was instrumental in putting the Gaels' basketball program on the national map. In his three seasons at Iona, Ruland was a dominant force, bursting onto the scene to lead the Gaels and the nation's freshmen in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. The dominance continued as the 6-10 center led the Maroon & Gold to a three-year record of 69-21 (.767) and the Gaels' first two NCAA Tournament appearances. The two-time All-America (1979 and 1980) went on to be a second-round selection (25th overall) in the 1981 NBA draft.

F

7-0 215

Kanombe, Rwanda/New Mexico Military Inst.

Head Coach: Billi Chambers (Hofstra ‘03), Tenth Season Associate Head Coach: Ashlee Kelly (Quinnipiac ‘04) Assistant Coach: Nick Volchok (Mercy ‘04) Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.: Brianna Sanders (Ohio State ‘14)

Head Coach: Rick Pitino (Massachusetts '74), Third Season Assistant Coaches: Ricky Johns (Utah '07), Taliek Brown (UConn '14), Bob Walsh (Hamilton '94)

Director of Operations: Steve Masiello (Kentucky '14) Assistant to the Head Coach: Jeff Martin (LeTourneau '17) Video Coordinator: Brandon Irving (North Texas '17) Graduate Manager: Dan Fitzpatrick (Syracuse '22) Strength Coach: Jason Martinez (Manhattan '17) Athletic Trainer: Bernard Smack (Lockhaven '16) Athletic Communications: Brian Beyrer (Iona '01) 2022-23 Captain: Parker Weiss

Director of Operations: Morgan Rachu (Iona ‘20) Graduate Manager: Omorede Rainey (Iona ‘22) Strength Coach: Jake Eglintine (Springfield '18) Athletic Trainer: Sara Carpentieri (Springfield '17) Athletic Communications: Jack Clark (Iona '17)

HEAD COACH BILLI CHAMBERS Iona University women's basketball head coach Billi Chambers is in her tenth season at the helm of the Gaels' program in 2022-23. Chambers, the 2014 MAAC Coach of the Year, guided the Maroon & Gold to its first MAAC Championship in program history in 2016. In 2014, she was also named the WBCA Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year after leading Iona to a regular season championship and a berth in the Women's NIT. Chambers is one of three coaches all-time at Iona to earn 100 career wins. The Gaels earned an individual All-MAAC in all nine seasons under Chambers' tutelage, including two MAAC Player of the Year awards (Damika Martinez in 2014 and 2015) and last season's MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, Juana Camilion. Camilion is a four-time member of postseason all-conference teams, earning All-MAAC Second Team honors last season.

HEAD COACH RICK PITINO Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Pitino is in his third season at the helm of the Iona University men's basketball program and 35th as an NCAA Division I head coach. Rick Pitino has taken four different programs to the NCAA tournament, appeared in seven Final Fours, and coached two national championship teams. During his first 34 seasons as a Division I head coach, He held a 807-285 overall record and a 54-20 record in the NCAA Tournament. In two seasons with the Gaels he has led the program to an NCAA tournament berth in 2021 and a MAAC Regular Season title in 2021-22. In his first season, Coach Pitino earned his 13th conference tournament championship as a Division I head coach and became the only coach in NCAA Div. I history to win tournaments in six difference conferences (ECAC North, SEC, Conference USA, Big East, American and MAAC). Coach Pitino was the first coach to take three different schools to the NCAA Final Four and win an NCAA Championship at two different schools. Coach Pitino, who has a stellar reputation for success on the court and a dedication to student athlete academic success, has served as head coach of the Louisville (2001–2017, winning the 2013 NCAA Championship), Kentucky (1989–1997, winning the 1996 NCAA Championship), Providence (1985–1987), Boston University (1978–1983) and Hawaii (last six games 1975–1976). And, while often choosing to do so anonymously, he has served as a charitable benefactor for a broad spectrum of worthy causes.

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2023 | HERCULES TIRES MAAC MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 49