Albany, NY-- The Sage Colleges' men's basketball team has selected two players to serve as the team's 2012-2013 captains, Jeff Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) and Ryan Sager (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane). The talented pair will serve as the Gators' leaders on and off the court this season.
After having his 2011-2012 season cut short with an injury, Stopera returns this year ready to continue his play for the Gators. His long list of career accomplishments at Sage includes 342 career points in 58 games played with a program-best 287 assists and 125 steals. Stopera was a member of Sage's first varsity basketball team in 2009-2010.
As a junior, Jeff's campaign was cut short with an injury. Prior to the injury, he was a seven-game starter for the Gators and had a 5.7 ppg and 2.1 rpg average, while handing out 32 assists with 40 steals. He capped the season with a selection to the NABC Honors Court for his accomplishments on the court and in the classroom. As a sophomore, he was a 26-game starter and led the Gators with his 152 assists, while averaging 7.3 ppg. As a rookie, he started 20 of 25 games played and handed out 103 assists with a 4.5 ppg average. Among his many highlights at Sage, he has twice hit the single-game mark with 11 assists in a game and also owns a 78.1% career free throw percentage in 58 games played with 53 starts.
Head Coach Brian Barnes said of Stopera, "He is entering his third season as a team captain." Barnes added, "The coaching staff has watched him grow into an exceptional leader. No one works harder on their game or in practice than Jeff Stopera. We ask a lot from Jeff and he has given everything he has to meet our challenges on a daily basis. It's great to have him back."
Sager is entering his third season with the Gators and is among the team's top performers from last year's Sage lineup. A year ago, he added an 8.6 ppg average with a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game in his 23 games played with 22 starts. He led the Gators with his 26 blocked shots as well and now sports 43 blocks in two seasons at Sage, which is second best on the career list. Sager has 423 career points (4th), while his 292 career rebounds is second best in program-history. Sager shot a blistering 54.9 % from the floor this season (84-153) and now has a career FG% of 56.3% (174-309), which is third best on the Gator career list.
Barnes notes of Sager, "The coaching staff is excited about the improvement we have seen in Ryan Sager." Barnes continued, "Ryan is someone that gives it his all in every drill of every practice. He had a great summer and returned to campus with a lot of confidence which has paid off in the early season practices. We're really happy to be able to reward Ryan with this leadership position in our program. Ryan has worked so hard every day and he truly deserves it."
The Sage College's men's basketball team will open the 2012-2013 season on November 16-17 at the 2012 Plattsburgh State Cardinal Invitational. The Gators open play facing the host Plattsburgh State Cardinals at 8 p.m. on November 16. The tournament wraps on Saturday with the consolation game at 2 p.m. and the championship contest at 4 p.m.
