Albany, NY — The Sage Colleges' department of athletics announced the recipients of the department's annual awards. The department selected sophomore men's basketball player Charles Davis (Bronx, NY/Fannie Lou Hamer) as the 2019-2020 Rookie Male Athlete of the Year. Davis, who was a rookie member of the Sage men's basketball team this past year.
Head Men's Basketball Coach Brian Barnes noted, "Our coaching staff is incredibly proud of Charles!" He continued, "Coming off of a season ending injury last year, Charles began to hit his stride during Empire 8 league play when we needed him the most. Charles is a relentless competitor, a caring teammate and a student athlete who has terrific potential. Our coaching staff is looking forward to helping Charles reach his fullest potential and seeing what the future holds for both him and his teammates. Congratulations Charles!"
Davis, who missed last season with an injury, returned to Sage this year and capped his inaugural campaign in a Sage uniform in an impressive fashion.
On the 2019-2020 season, Davis started 4 of 25 games played and was the team's second leading scorer with 224 points and a 9.0 ppg average. The 224 points scored in a season is the most by a rookie since the first season of basketball at Sage in 2009-2010. He added 4.8 rpg with 23 blocked shots and 27 steals. He averaged 20.4 minutes per game and was the team's high rebounder five times on the year, while once finishing as the squad's high scorer. His personal-highs on the year included a 20-point effort against SUNY-Delhi and 10 rebounds against Alfred. He also racked up six blocked shots against Elmira College along the way.
Davis helped the Gators earn a spot in the league tournament, a Sage first. Sage went 15-11 this year with a record of 8-6 in conference play. Along the way, he helped Sage collect key wins over defending league champions, Alfred and a key road win over eventual league champs, St. John Fisher College. Overall in 2019-2020 Sage combined to rank nationally in Division III in the Top 100 in nine different statistical categories including No. 23 in offensive rebounds per game (13.81) and No. 58 in total rebounds per game (41.08).
