Mount Laurel, New Jersey, fifth-year forward is program's first Division I All-District selection with spot on second team
NABC Announces Division I All-District Teams, Coaches
EASTON, Mass. (March 14, 2023) – Stonehill College fifth-year forward Andrew Sims has been selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 15 second team by member coaches in the District, the NABC announced today.
Sims, who was an All-Northeast Conference first team selection as well, is Stonehill's first NABC All-District selection in the program's NCAA Division I era. He is the program's six All-District selection overall since 2009 and first since former teammate Will Moreton, '20 was a first team honoree in 2020. Sims is one of six from the NEC to earn a spot on the NABC All-District 15 first and second team.
Sims, a two-time All-Conference selection with second team honors in the Northeast-10 Conference in 2022 to go with his first team All-NEC pick this year, started 28 of the 30 games he played in the Skyhawks inaugural Division I season and ranks among NEC leaders in six categories. He is sixth in scoring with his team-high 15.2 points per game, while also ranking fourth in field goal percentage (.475), seventh in free-throw percentage (.752) and 14th in rebounds per game (4.5), including 13th in defensive rebounds (3.5/gm) while his 33.2 minutes per game ranks fifth in the NEC.
Sims is the Skyhawks first Division I NABC All-District selection in their inaugural Division I season. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Sims was Stonehill's top scorer in 12 games this winter, scoring in double-figures 25 times, with 20-plus points a team-high nine games. He scored a career-high 30 points in the Skyhawks 62-51 win over St. Francis College of Brooklyn on February 11 and was the team's top rebounder in nine games, posting a double-double with 17 points and a season-high ten rebounds in the Skyhawks win at Sacred Heart University in their NEC debut on December 29. Sims earned NEC Player of the Week honors following Stonehill's first week of the season and was an NEC Prime Performer a team-leading nine times. He earned All-Tournament team honors at the Tom Konchalski Classic at Fordham University in November.
Sims became the 43rd player in Stonehill men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career, doing so against FDU on January 16. He finished his career ranked 29th all-time at Stonehill with 1,172 points in 103 career games, starting 63, adding 508 rebounds, 152 assists, 51 steals and 63 blocked shots. Sims scored in double-figures 54 times over his collegiate career, with 20-plus points 17 times, and totaling seven career double-doubles.
Stonehill, picked ninth in the NEC preseason coaches' poll, turned in a second-place finish in the Conference's final regular season standings in its first NCAA Division I season, starting its four-year transition period on July 1, 2022. The Skyhawks are ineligible for the NEC Tournament until 2024-25 and will be a full Division I member starting in 2026-27. Sims was among three All-NEC selections for the Skyhawks in their first year in the Conference, while head coach Chris Kraus, '06 earned the NEC's Jim Phelan Coach of the Year Award. Stonehill finished with a 14-17 record overall, including 10-6 in the NEC to finish second in the Conference standings. The Skyhawks faced three teams that will be competing in March Madness starting this week, with another earning a bid to the NIT.
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