Neitzel Named The Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American
3/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 28, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State junior guard Drew Neitzel has been named Honorable Mention All-American by The Associated Press. Neitzel was also named to the Collegehoops.net All-Improved Team and was selected as the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player by collegeinsider.com. MSU sophomore guard Travis Walton was selected to the collegeinsider.com Defensive All-America Team. Freshman forward Raymar Morgan was an honorable mention selection to the Collegehoops.net All-Freshman Team.
Neitzel averaged a team-best 18.1 points per game, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in scoring. He scored 20 or more points in 17 games. He made 114-of-277 3-point attempts, ranking as the second-best single-season total for made 3-pointers in MSU history. He led the Big Ten in free-throw percentage (.879) and 3-point field goals made per game (3.26 pg), while ranking second in minutes played per game (35.69 mpg), fourth in scoring (18.1 ppg), fifth in assists (4.31 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.84) and seventh in 3-point field-goal percentage (.412).
The Collegehoops.net All-Improved Team consists of Neitzel, Oregon's Aaron Brooks, Texas A&M's Acie Law, Temple's Dionte Christmas and Providence's Herbert Hill. Neitzel earned a spot on the team after raising his scoring average from 8.3 in 2005-06 to 18.1 this past season. His increase of +9.8 points is the third-largest increase by a Spartan starter in school history.
Walton is one of 21 players nationwide selected to the Defensive All-America Team. He led MSU with 42 steals. Even more importantly, his toughness allowed him to cover a wide variety of players. While he normally was asked to guard the opposing team's top perimeter player, he did show the versatility to handle forwards as well. His defensive skills made life difficult for some of the best offensive players in the Big Ten. Earlier this season, Walton was selected to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.
Morgan was MSU's second-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. He missed seven games with a stress reaction in his right shin, but scored in double figures in 22 of his last 28 games. He closed out his freshman season on a strong note, averaging 14.0 points over the last 10 games.
