WILLIMANTIC, Conn. –- Sophomore guard
Cedrick Similien (Norwich) represents the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team in the 2024/25 season-ending awards program by the Little East Conference, released today.
Similien, a second-year player, was one of six individuals named to the LEC All-Defensive Team, becoming the program's 14
th recipient to the team, which was instituted in 2008/09. He becomes the program's sixth recipient of the award prior to their junior season.
Four major awards – Player-of-the-Year, Defensive Player-of-the-Year, Rookie-of-the-Year and Coach-of-the-Year were also announced. Major awards and the all-conference and All-Defensive Team were voted upon by the conference's nine head coach.
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rd-year head coach
Bill Geitner, Eastern finished 14-11 overall (5-11 LEC) – an eight-game turnaround from last season's final record of 6-19.
In his first season as a fulltime starter, Similien started 22 of the 23 games in which he appeared, averaging 26.3 minutes per game. With Similien, Eastern leads the conference in scoring defense (67.8), and fewest points allowed (1,696) and is ranked second in the LEC in field goal percentage defense (42.4) and three-point field goal percentage defense (31.6).
"Cedrick consistently guarded our opponent's best offensive player," Geitner pointed out. "His on-ball defense and physicality were Cedrick's greatest strength."
During the year, Eastern limited four opponents to less than 60 points and 14 opponents to less than 70, including its first six opponents when the Warriors opened by winning their first six games.
Similien finished second on the team in steals (28), collecting three on four different occasions at least one in 11 of the team's last 15 games. In addition to his defense, the rugged 6-foot-2 inch, 185-pounder averaged 9.6 points and shot 48.0 percent from the floor and was second on the team with 22 three-point field goals.
Eastern's prior LEC All-Defensive Team selections included four-time picks Nick Nedwick and Hugh Lindo, and two-time selection Jamie Kohn, along with Kevin Leumene, Carlos Gonzalez and Max Lee. All but Kohn and Lindo were backcourt players.
