2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships Digital Program

2022–23 SIENA MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

QUICK FACTS LOCATION LOUDONVILLE, NY NICKNAME SAINTS COLORS GREEN AND GOLD YEAR FOUNDED 1937 PRESIDENT CHRISTOPHER P. GIBSON, PH.D ATHLETIC DIRECTOR/VICE PRESIDENT JOHN D’ARGENIO HOME ARENA MVP ARENA (6,965) – MEN UHY CENTER (2,148) – WOMEN

MEN’S ROSTER

WOMEN’S ROSTER No. Name Cl.

No.

Name

Cl.

Pos. Ht.

Wt.

Hometown/High School/Last School

Pos.

Ht.

Hometown/High School/Previous School

0 1 2 3 5

Zek Tekin

Fr.

G 6-2 168 Istanbul, Turkey/Ozel Esenkent Okyanus Anadolu Lisesi

0 1 2 3 4 5

Ahniysha Jackson Nikola Zdenkova Teresa Seppala London Gamble

Jr.

G 5-7 Watervliet, NY/Albany

PLAYER TO WATCH Siena sophomore Anajah Brown has accepted the challenge of being one of only five returning players with any experience for the Saints this season. The Norristown, Pennsylvania native has averaged north of double figures as the team’s leading scorer throughout the season, and has emerged as a double-double threat as the team’s leading defender on the glass. A team captain entering the season, Brown has consistently ranked as one of the top rebounders, shots blockers, and shooters in the MAAC, with career highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds put forth thus far. NOTABLE ALUMNI One of the most prolific post players in program history, Melanie Halker (Moore) ‘99 remains the Saints’ all-time rebounder (1,122, 10.0 per-game) to this day, and is one of only for Siena Basketball players to score 2,000 career points (2,021). She also still holds the single-season marks for field goals, total rebounds, and boards per-game, as well as the single-game record for rebounding (24). A two-time MAAC Player of the Year selection in 1997 & 1998, Halker also earned three First Team All-MAAC selections and was the MAAC Rookie of the Year for the 1995-96 season. A 2005 Siena Athletic Hall of Fame inductee and 2018 MAAC Hall of Fame Honor Roll member, She was named the eighth head coach of Xavier Women’s Basketball on April 5, 2019.

Jared Billups

So.

G 6-4 200 Waldorf, MD/McDonogh School

Fr. Fr.

G 5-9 Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Pripotocni

Javian McCollum So.

G 6-2 155 Fort Myers, FL/Fort Myers

G 6-0 Tampere, Finland/Makelanrinteen Lukio

Michael Eley

Fr.

G 6-4 188 Fort Wayne, IN/Veritas Prep Academy (FL) G 6-5 215 Buffalo, NY/Canisius/Middle Tennessee

G 5-8 Westlake Village, CA/West Lake

Fr .

5 th Yr.

Jayce Johnson

Valencia Fontenelle-Posson So.

G 5-10 Guilderland, NY/Guilderland

12 14 15 20 21 22 23 24 32 33 55

Sveinn Birgisson Fr.

F F

6-8 195 Reykjavik, Iceland/South Iceland College

Savannah Wilson

Fr. Fr.

F

6-1 Humble, TX/Kingwood Park

Jordan Kellier

Sr.

6-7 232 Portmore, Jamaica/Redemption Christian Academy (NY)/Utah

11 21 23 24 32 44

Angel Jones

G 5-4 Alexandria, VA/Forest Park

Mason Courtney

Fr.

G 6-4 175 Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa

Anajah Brown

So. So. Fr. Fr. Sr.

F

6-1 Norristown, PA/The Baldwin School

Killian Gribben Fr.

F F

6-10 208 Letterkenny, Ireland/Choate Rosemary Hall (CT)

Emina Selimovic

G/F 5-10 Erie, PA/McDowell

Brendan Coyle Andrew Platek

Fr.

6-7 205 Niskayuna, NY/Cushing Academy (MA)

Elisa Mevius

G 5-10 Grunberg, Germany/Theo-Koch School

Gr.

G 6-4 208 Guilderland, NY/Northfield Mount Hermon School (MA)/North Carolina

Hannah Finnerty

F/G 6-0 Woodside, NY/Monsignor McClancy Memorial

Taihland Owens So.

G 6-6 188 Canton, GA/Cherokee

Sevval Istanbulluoglu

G/F 6-2 Istanbul, Turkey/St. Timothy’s (MD)

Michael Baer

Gr.

F

6-7 218 Bettendorf, IA/Bettendorf/Iowa

PLAYER TO WATCH Javian McCollum has put together a breakout season for the Saints. The sophomore point guard from Fort Myers, Florida ranked in the top-five in the MAAC in scoring, assists, and free throw percentage while earning MAAC Player of the Week honors twice through the conclusion of January. To that point, McCollum had registered eight 20-plus point performances, highlighted by a pair of career-high 27-point games, and dished out a career-high eight assists on three separate occasions. McCollum had averaged just 6.7 points in 18.2 minutes over 23 games played during an injury-plagued freshman season. McCollum was a three-time The News-Press Player of the Year while starring at Fort Myers High, where he averaged 20.7 points while leading his squad to the Class 6A Regional Final in 2019-20. NOTABLE ALUMNI The all-time leading scorer in Siena Basketball history with 2,284 career points, Marc Brown ’91 was inducted into the 2017 MAAC Hall of Fame Honor Roll. Brown led Siena to three national postseason tournament appearances, highlighted by the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1989, and which culminated with a First Round upset of Stanford. He was named the 1991 MAAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-MAAC and All-MAAC Tournament Team selection in each of Siena’s first two seasons in the conference. A 1998 Siena Athletics Hall of Fame inductee who played 15 years professionally overseas, Brown has spent more than a decade as the head coach at Division III New Jersey City University.

Head Coach: Jim Jabir (Second Season), Nazareth ‘84 Assistant Coaches: Terry Primm (Second Season), Palm Beach Atlantic ‘97 , Heather Stec (Second Season), Siena ‘09 Director of Women’s Basketball Operations: Morgan Roche (Second Season), Quinnipiac ‘13

5 th Yr.

C 6-10 249 Aquidauana, Brazil/Campinas/San Jose State

Eduardo Lane

Steven Lazar

Jr.

F F

6-6 173 Toronto, ON/Crestwood Prep

Jackson Stormo Gr.

6-9 249 Santa Barbara, CA/San Marcos/Pepperdine

-

Evan Franz

-

-

-

-

Brunswick, NY/Tamarac

Head Coach: Carmen Maciariello (Fourth Season), Siena ‘01 Assistant Coaches: Bobby Castagna (Second Season), CSUN ‘75, Greg Fahey (Fourth Season), Marist ‘13, Darius Theus (First Season), VCU ‘13 Director of Basketball Operations: Derek Brooks (First Season), Air Force ‘11 Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Jonathan Pickett (Second Season), UAlbany ‘20

HEAD COACH JIM JABIR Jim Jabir is in his second season at the helm of Siena Women's Basketball after returning to Loudonville in April 2021. A finalist for the 2013 Naismith National Coach of the Year Award, the Brooklyn, New York native has led his programs to eight NCAA Tournament berths highlighted by a 2015 Elite Eight appearance, while amassing 524 wins entering the 2022-23 season. Jabir coached his 1,000th career game on Dec. 19, 2022, and is one of just 17 active NCAA women's basketball coaches across all levels to have coached more than 1,000 contests. The 60-year-old Jabir previously led the Siena Women’s Basketball program for three seasons (1987–90), while also having served as the head coach at Florida Atlantic University (2017–21), University of Dayton (2003–16), Providence College (1996–02), Marquette University (1990–96), and Division III Buffalo State College (1986–87). Jabir returns to the Capital Region following a four-year stint at Florida Atlantic where he took the Owls to unprecedented success in Conference USA. The Owls capped the season by securing the program’s first-ever C-USA Tournament win, which marked Jabir’s milestone 500th Division I head coaching victory.

@SIENA_WBB #SIENASAINTS #MARCHON

HEAD COACH CARMEN MACIARIELLO In his first three seasons at the helm, Siena Men’s Basketball alumnus Carmen Maciariello ’01 restored his alma mater to prominence. The native of nearby Clifton Park, New York directed the Saints to three straight winning seasons, highlighted by at least a share of a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Regular Season Championships, and the awarding of an outright MAAC Tournament Championship in his first year. Additionally, Maciariello has developed a pair of different MAAC Player of the Year honorees, with Jalen Pickett (2019-20) and Manny Camper (2020-21) each earning acclaim. The 44-year old Maciariello, who was rewarded for his success with a three year contract extension on Mar. 26, 2021, which runs through the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, achieved a stellar 47-29 (.618) overall record including a 39-17 (.696) mark in MAAC action through the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.

/SIENASAINTS /SIENABASKETBALL /SIENAWOMENSBASKETBALL

@SIENASAINTS @SIENAMBB @SIENAWBB

/THESIENASAINTS

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2023 | HERCULES TIRES MAAC MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 81