Tuesday, November 18, 2003

BRANDON ZALESKI NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN BY DIII NEWS; KIM HUGHES EARNED HONORABLE MENTION ACCOLADES FROM WOMEN’S DIII NEWS

BEAVERTON, OR --- Moravian College junior forward Brandon Zaleski (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown HS) has been named an NCAA Division III Preseason All-American by DIII News while senior guard Kim Hughes (Manasquan, NJ/St. Rose HS) earned Preseason Honorable Mention accolades from Women’s DIII News.

Zaleski was one of 24 Preseason All-American selections and one of three honorees from the Mid-Atlantic Region. Hughes was one of 36 Honorable Mention selections for the women.

Zaleski, who was the Commonwealth’s Player of the Year last winter, leads the Greyhound returners this season. Zaleski has already become one of the most prolific scorers in school history, needing just 31 points to reach 1,000 in his career. In his first two years, Zaleski have averaged 18.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor and 84 percent at the foul line.

Already this season, Street & Smith’s 2003 College Basketball Preview has named Zaleski an Honorable Mention Preseason All-American, and he was named to the D3Hoops.com Preseason All-American Third Team.

Last winter, Zaleski who was named to the Commonwealth All-Conference First Team, Lehigh Valley Small College Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, DIII News Honorable Mention All-American, National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District Middle Atlantic Region First Team, and the D3hoops.com All Region Second Team, helped the Greyhounds to a 16-11 overall record and berths in the Commonwealth Conference Playoffs and Eastern College Athletic Conference South Quarterfinals. He led the team in scoring and rebounding with 18.2 and 7.5, respectively and in blocked shots with 11. Zaleski also added 34 steals and 22 assists.

As a freshman, Zaleski led Moravian in scoring with an average of 19.1 points per game. Zaleski was named to the Commonwealth Conference All-Star Second Team and he was also the Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year. He averaged 6.6 rebounds per game and led Moravian with 17 blocked shots and a 59.9 field goal shooting percentage, which ranked in the top 25 nationally. Zaleski also contributed 32 steals and 24 assists and was the leader among the starters in free throw shooting at 83.1 percent on 111 attempts.

The Moravian men will begin its 2003-04 season on Friday, November 21st against Elms College at 6:00 p.m. in the first round of the Scotty Wood Tournament at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Hughes was a member of the Commonwealth All-Conference First Team last winter and helped the Greyhounds to a 20-8 overall record with berths in the Commonwealth Conference Playoffs and the ECAC South Semifinals. Hughes, who enters the season 49 points shy of 1,000 in her career, averaged a team high 12.9 points per game and made a team high 56 three-pointers a year ago.

During her sophomore season, Hughes averaged 11.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game to go along with 38 assists and 43 steals. Hughes had her highest single season scoring average as a freshman in 2000-01 when she netted 14.6 points per contest. Hughes added 2.9 rebounds per game, 43 assists and 53 steals in her debut season.

The Moravian women are scheduled to begin its 2003-04 season at the Swarthmore College Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, November 22nd against Curry College at 4:00 p.m.