EDISON, NJ - The historic season for the Saint Peter's men's basketball team continued today, with the Peacocks placing a league-high four individuals on All-MAAC teams, announced by the league office today. The quartet of
Daryl Banks III,
Doug Edert,
Aaron Estrada, and
KC Ndefo earned five total all-league selections, two more than the next closest MAAC schools of Rider and Siena which had three all-league honors each.
Ndefo and Estrada were selected to the All-MAAC Third Team, while Estrada was also a unanimous choice to the All-Rookie Team. Joining Estrada on the All-Rookie Team were classmates Banks and Edert.
Ndefo finished the regular season as Saint Peter's leader in scoring, rebounds, offensive rebounds, blocks, and steals. He averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 offensive rebounds, 2.4 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game. Ndefo led the conference in blocked shots all season long, rejecting 66 total shots this season, 11 more than the next closest player in the league, while also ranking fifth in steals. His 2.4 blocks per game and 66 total blocked shots also ranked 23rd and 25th in the nation, respectively. Furthermore, Ndefo was the only player in the MAAC this season to rank top-10 in both blocks and steals on the conference leaderboard. He scored above 10 points in eight contests and he was the team leader in blocks 18 times and in steals 12 times.
Estrada averaged 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while only playing 19 minutes per game this season. His points per game and assists per game averages both ranked second on the squad. Estrada led Saint Peter's in scoring a team-best eight times this season, scoring in double-figures in 11 games during his first season in Jersey City. In MAAC play, he posted the fourth-best free throw percentage, connecting on 87.2 percent of his freebies. Estrada scored a career-high 20 points on Feb. 16 against Fairfield. He was a three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week, earning all three awards in a five-week span from Feb. 3 to Mar. 2. The point guard was also the only Peacock this season with four consecutive games in double-figures, achieving the accomplishment during the team's five-game winning-streak during the month of February.
Estrada became the first Peacock since Keydren "Kee Kee" Clark in 2003 to be selected to the All-Rookie team and one of the three All-MAAC teams in the same season.
Banks ranked second on the team in total points and total three-pointers made in his freshman season, scoring 229 points, one shy of Ndefo. He averaged 7.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per outing. On eight occasions, Banks scored in double-digits and he was the team's scoring leader four times during the regular season. Banks was the first Peacock this season to surpass 20 points in a game, scoring a career-high 25 points at Iona on Jan. 3., which led to a MAAC Rookie of the Week honor on Jan. 6.
Edert served as Saint Peter's long-distance specialist in his first season as a Peacock, knocking down a team-high 51 triples on 45.5 percent of his attempts. His overall three-point field percentage ranked second in the league and his total made three-pointers ranked 14th. Edert averaged 7.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 2019-20. He was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Feb. 24 following his career-day against hOURglass Rival Rider, when he put up 28 points, the most points by a Peacock in any game this season. In the win, Edert also set Saint Peter's individual game-highs for the season in field goals (9) and three-pointers (7). He led the Peacocks in scoring in six different games and scored 10 or more points nine times.
Saint Peter's becomes the first conference squad in league history to place three freshmen on the All-Rookie Team, and the three are the first trio of teammates to make the same all-conference team in a decade, last being done by the 2009-10 Siena squad which placed three teammates on the first team. The five all-conference honors are a Saint Peter's single-season record, surpassing the previous program high of three, which was done three times in 2004, 2006, and 2016. The five selections are also the most by a single MAAC team since Rider placed four players on five all-league teams in 2017-18.
The second-seeded Peacocks open play in the 2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championship quarterfinals on Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 7 Iona and No. 10 Canisius at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. For up-to-date information during the tournament, c
heck our Championship Central page throughout the week.
First Team
E.J. Crawford, Iona*
Deion Hammond, Monmouth
Marcus Hammond, Niagara
Dimencio Vaughn, Rider*
Manny Camper, Siena
Jalen Pickett, Siena*
Second Team
Tajuan Agee, Iona
Ray Salnave, Monmouth
Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac
Kevin Marfo, Quinnipiac
Elijah Burns, Siena
Third Team
Malik Johnson, Canisius
Pauly Paulicap, Manhattan
Tyere Marshall, Rider
Frederick Scott, Rider
Aaron Estrada, Saint Peter's
KC Ndefo, Saint Peter's
Rookie Team
Jacco Fritz, Canisius
Chris Maidoh, Fairfield
Tyler Sagl, Marist
Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter's
Doug Edert, Saint Peter's
Aaron Estrada, Saint Peter's*
* denotes unanimous selection
