STANDISH, Maine – Weekly accolades have been announced and Saint Joseph's College junior guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) has been claimed D3hoops.com Team of the Week, Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Week, and Maine Men's Basketball Coaches & Writers Association (MMBCWA) honors
Casale enjoyed a monster week en route to this second straight and fifth GNAC Player of the Week award, as he helped lead the Monks to a pair of important conference wins and the #5 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Casale averaged 40.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 57.1% (28-49) from the field, 44.4% (8-18) from three-point land, and 94.4% (17-18) from the FT line. The junior guard netted 39 points (13-23 FG, 4-9 3PT, 9-10 FT) with nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 90-78 victory at Suffolk on Tuesday and poured in 42 points (15-26 FG, 4-9 3PT, 8-8 FT) with six boards, five assists, and a pair of steals in a convincing 88-70 triumph over Lasell on Saturday.
The trifecta of awards brings Casale's total on the year to 12 weekly honors – he has been named as the MMBWCA top player six times and the GNAC Player of the Week on five occasions. The D3hoops.com weekly award is the first of his college career.
In 25 games this winter, Casale averaged 26.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 49.9% (221-443) from the field, 36.8% (74-201) from three-point land, and 79.4% (135-170) from the FT line. He led the GNAC in field goals made (221), free throws made (135), scoring average (26.0 PPG) and points (651) and ranked second in defensive rebounds (213) and third in three-pointers made (74) in 2020. He also finished the year ranked fifth in the conference in rebounding (9.2 RPG), sixth in total rebounds (230), and eighth in assists (87) and FT% (79.4%).
Casale is just the second player in SJC men's basketball program history to be listed on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week, a national honor bestowed upon the top five players in the country – by position – each reporting period. Former teammate Ian Mileikis '19, who was listed on the Team of the Week on January 14th, 2019, is the only other Saint Joseph's men's player to earn the high accolade.
The 2019-20 season came to an end for Saint Joseph's last night with an 82-66 setback at the hands of Anna Maria College in the first round of the GNAC Tournament. The Monks finished the season 12-14 overall with a 6-5 record in conference play.