North Carolina Central University

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

     HAMPTON, VA -- North Carolina Central University freshmen Jori Nwachukwu and Jasmine Newkirk have been voted to the CIAA All-Rookie Team, as voted on by the CIAA-Sports Information Directors’ Association. Nwachukwu was voted as the conference's top rookie, earning the CIAA Rookie of the Year award.
       A 5-10 marketing major from Upper Marlboro, MD, Nwachukwu immediately made her presence felt on the
 Lady Eagles team. In her first season at NCCU, Nwachukwu finished second at NCCU and 13th in the
 conference in scoring (12.5 ppg), first at NCCU and  fifth in the conference in rebounding (9.7) and sixth in the
 CIAA in field goal percentage (48.7 percent). 
      Nwachukwu, a five-time CIAA Rookie of the Week honoree (Dec. 4, Dec. 11, Dec. 30, Feb. 5, Feb. 12)
 recorded seven double-doubles on the season, including a 26-point, 14-rebound performance on Dec. 5 at
 Elizabeth City State University. In that game, Nwachukwu converted 10-of-16 shots from the field and pulled
 down eight offensive rebounds. 
      Nwachukwu's fellow freshman and fellow All-CIAA team member, Newkirk, was also named to the All-CIAA rookie team. Newkirk, who hails from Raleigh, N.C., was third at NCCU in scoring (9.8 ppg), 14th in the conference in field goal percentage (45.1 percent), second at NCCU and 10th in the conference in assists (3.16 apg) and her 1.52 assists to turnover ratio topped the CIAA. 
      Newkirk, the CIAA's rookie of the week on Jan. 14, was instrumental in NCCU's road victory at Shaw University, which snapped a 10-game losing against the Lady Bears that included hard-to-swallow setbacks in the semifinals of last season's CIAA Tournament and the ensuing NCAA Regional playoffs. The Mass Communications major who led Needham Broughton High School to the North Carolina State 4-A Championship two seasons ago, scored 16 of her 21 points in the decisive second half and finished with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. 
      After starting the season 3-4, head coach Joli Robinson's team has won 17 of its last 18 contests and have
 clinched at least a share of the CIAA's Western Division title. NCCU will honor its seniors tonight at 5:30 p.m.,
 inside McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium against Saint Paul's College. The double-header will constitute the final
 home game for NCCU as a member of the CIAA. 

 Leading the way for the ladies is the 2007 CIAA Women's Rookie of the Year Jori Nwachukwu of North Carolina Central University. A five-time CIAA Rookie of the Week honoree, Nwachukwu led all freshmen in scoring and rebounding this season nearly averaging a double-double of 12.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per outing. Her rebounding average tops the Lady Eagles who are in first place in the CIAA Western Division. In the CIAA she is tenth in scoring, 5th in rebounding, 4th in field goal percentage (.497) and tenth in blocked shots (0.76). A native of Upper Marlboro, MD, Nwachukwu is majoring in Biology at NCCU.

On the men's side Charlotte, NC native Jerry Hollis has been named the 2007 Rookie of the Year as a starting forward for his hometown Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls. Hollis set the bar freshman this season the men's side as he was voted CIAA Rookie of the Week an astounding seven times. Hollis led all freshmen this past year in scoring (12.0) rebounding (6.4), blocked shots (1.5) and steals (1.53). Majoring in Biology at JCSU, Hollis also appears in the national rankings for NCAA Division II in blocked shots.

The Men's and Women's All-Rookie Basketball teams will be honored at their respective tip off banquets in Charlotte, NC the week of the 2007 CIAA Basketball Tournament. A complete list of the 2007 All-Rookie Teams is as follows:

2007 CIAA Women's All-Rookie Team
NAME  SCHOOL  POS  HT  HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL  MAJOR
Juantale Cook  Saint Paul's  G  5-6  Upper Marlboro, MD/Potomac  Special Education
Gabrielle Johnson  Saint Paul's  G/F  5-9  Virginia Beach, VA/Princess Anne  Accounting
Jonta Moss  Livingstone  G  5-6  Augusta, GA/Laney  Criminal Justice
Jori Nwachukwu  N.C. Central  F/C  5-10  Upper Marlboro, MD/Bishop McNamara  Marketing
Jasmine Newkirk  N.C. Central  G  5-8  Raleigh, NC/Broughton  Mass Communications

2007 CIAA Women's Rookie of the Year - Jori Nwachukwu, North Carolina Central University

2007 CIAA Men's All-Rookie Team
NAME  SCHOOL  POS  HT  HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL  MAJOR
Brandon Byerson  Virginia Union  G  6-1  Colonial Heights, VA/Thomas Dale  Computer Science
Corey Camphor  Bowie State  G  6-0  Upper Marlboro, MD/Bridgton Academy  Music
Jerry Hollis  J.C. Smith  F  6-6  Charlotte, NC/Victory Christian  Biology
Trey Mines  Virginia State  G  6-2  Colonial Heights, VA/Blue Ridge Academy  Computer Info. Sys.
Jonathan Mudd  Shaw Univ.  G  6-1  Miami, FL/American  Psychology
 

2007 CIAA Men's Rookie of the Year - Jerry Hollis, Johnson C. Smith University