Hamilton Square’s Chris LaBelle made school history as he became the first men’s basketball player in Centenary University history to be named conference Player of the Year after averaging 22.3 points per game this season. (Photos by Jenna Glinko/centenarycyclones.com)
By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
Feb. 25: Look around New Jersey this year and you’ll see a couple of senior college basketball players from Trenton Catholic Academy getting plenty of well-deserved publicity – namely Seton Hall’s Myles Powell and Princeton’s Richmond Aririguzoh.
Well folks, add another name to that list. He’s only a junior and he’s Division III rather than Division I, but that doesn’t make Hamilton Township product Chris LaBelle’s achievements any less impressive.
The 2017 TCA graduate became the first Centenary University men’s basketball player to ever win the Colonial States Athletic Conference Player of the Year award. The announcement was made on Monday, just prior to the start of the CSAC Tournament.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment to be honored by the conference,” LaBelle said. “Knowing all the hours of hard work are recognized is a feeling like no other. All the credit goes to my teammates, who consistently put me in great positions to score and help us continue this great season we are having.”
LaBelle’s efforts have helped the Cyclones (17-8) to the conference tournament’s No. 1 seed and they will host No. 4 Wilson Wednesday night.
“We have to take it one game at a time but we are two wins away (from an NCAA berth),” LaBelle said. “Everyone is locked in and laser focused on getting a conference championship and playing in the NCAA tournament. It’s something no one at this school has ever done and we are all looking to be the first.”
It would be LaBelle’s “second first” after earning the Cyclones first Player of the Year honor, along with first-team All-Conference. But shortly after he received the phone call, his mind shifted back to the team.
“Of course the initial reaction is just joy and an honor to be awarded something like this, because it’s not every day you get to be recognized for your work,” LaBelle said. “But that thought quickly changed to ‘We are not done yet’ and I had to get locked in for Wednesday’s game.”
LaBelle deserved a little self-gratitude after his outstanding regular season.
The 6-foot-1 guard averaged a CSAC best, 22.3 points per game and broke six records in the process. This season he set the school marks for single-game points (45), single-game free throws made (18), single-game assists (12), single-season free throws made (187) and career free throws made (356). He also broke the CSAC record for single-season free throws made.
Chris recorded a triple-double in the Cyclones’ home win over Keystone and has two other double-doubles. Proving to be more than just a scorer, LaBelle has collected 124 assists, which ranks second on Centenary’s single-season all-time list. Despite his size, he has at least one rebound in every game this year and is averaging 5.7 per contest.
LaBelle has not only become a more complete player, he also feels he is now a complete scorer. After averaging 16.0 and 18.9 points his first two seasons, LaBelle raised his average again thanks to adding more than just perimeter shooting to his repertoire.
“The past two years I have been known more for my shooting a lot more than being able to drive,” he said. “So this past summer, adding penetrating and getting to the free throw line was a big focus.
“Adding weight to keep defenders off and be able to have more durability as the season went on was a big thing. I feel like this is the best basketball that I am playing in my career, but again it has a lot to do with how well our team plays together and the amount of talent on the floor at one time.”
And LaBelle stands out as one of the most talented.
Not just on his team, but in the entire conference.
