Jeff Stopera Named 2013-2014 Gator of the Year for Sage Men's Basketball Squad
Albany, NY – The Sage College’s department of athletics gathered to recognize and honor the outstanding performances of the 2013-2014 year with the naming of the athletic award winners for the 15 varsity athletic teams. In addition to awarding the Gator Award, for the Most Outstanding Player, the department also named the 2013-2014 Female and Male Athletes of the Year as well as the ECAC Merit Medal and the Dean Sharon Robinson Senior Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Men’s Basketball team captain, Jeff Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) earned the Gator Award in men’s basketball.
Additionally, Stopera was also named to The Sage College’s Intercollegiate Athletic Honor Society, which recognized junior, senior, or graduate level student-athletes, that have maintained a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.3 or better and have participated as a member of a varsity team for at least two seasons.
Head Men’s Basketball Coach Brian Barnes said of Stopera, “Our coaching staff is so proud to name Jeff Stopera as our 2013-2014 Gator award winner.” Barnes continued, “Jeff has been the benchmark for work ethic within our program during his outstanding career at Sage. Jeff's passion for the game and drive to win are the building blocks and cornerstones for our young program. He has done a great job of showing our younger players the way and I couldn't be more proud of our accomplishments together.”
A graduate student at Sage this past season, Stopera enjoyed his personal-best campaign that culminated with his earning a spot on the 2013-14 Skyline Conference All-Star Second Team. He tallied 272 points and 166 assists. He averaged 10.9 ppg in 25 games played with 56 steals and a team-best 33.3 minutes per game as well. He ranks No. 1 in the league with his 6.67 assists per game average, while ranking second with his 2.33 steals per game. He is also No. 2 in assist to turnover ratio with a 2.32 rating and ranks 4th in FT% (78.0%). He finished his Sage career as the record holder in numerous categories.
He played in a record 110 games with 567 assists, 234 steals, and finished No. 3 all-time at Sage in scoring with 860 career points. He is ranked No. 8 in Div. 3 with his assists per game, No. 6 in total assists, and No. 42 in steals per game.
Over the course of the 2013-2014 season, he finished as the high scorer on three occasions including a 27-point effort in the win over the College of Mt. St. Vincent. He also set a new mark for most points in a game as he tallied 32 points in Sage's loss at Farmingdale, 83-79. He earned Skyline Conference Co-Player of the Week honors following the 32-point performance and was also cited as the ECAC Division III Metro Men's Basketball Player of the Week.
Stopera was also cited by the Skyline Conference as the 2013-2014 recipient the Sportsmanship Award and during his career he has also excelled as a member of Sage’s men’s golf team the past two years, helping the team to the 2012 and 2013 Skyline Conference Men’s Golf Runner-up Trophy.
