Union County College Men's Basketball program just honored 3 graduating sophomore players from the 2017-18 team.
#23 Aaron Smith is a Guard from Jersey City, NJ and a returning sophomore for the Owls. Aaron is also a former baseball player for the Owls.
Aaron has improved immensely and has found his niche with the Owls. Known for his defensive abilities he is the Owl's best 1-on-1 defender. His tremendous work ethic in practice helped prepare the Owls for many games. Aaron has improved off the basketball court raising his GPA above a 3.0 this past Fall semester and was named to the Garden State Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. After graduation, Aaron will decide which NCAA school he will continue his academic and basketball career.
#20 William Phelps is a Power Forward from Linden, NJ and a transfer student from Felician University.
William is a tremendous basketball player for Union County College. He is the leading scorer and rebounder of the Men's Basketball Team. William's poise and friendliness allows many of the freshmen players a sense of comfort on the court. He is one of the top scorers in Region XIX and is up for Player of the Year for the Region. This season, William had a career high of 47 points against Camden County College on December 9th along with many double figure rebounding games.
William has several schools looking to bring him on next year, and wherever he decides to go he will be an immediate impact player for that program.
#1 D'Andre Simpson, "DJ" to his coaches and teammates, is a shooting Guard from Hillside, NJ and is the returning sophomore for the Owls.
DJ is the type of player all coaches desire to have on their team. He is a work horse in the off-season and stays in the gym outside of practice to improve his craft. He is an effortless shooter, shooting over 40% from 3-point line, 48% from the field and 80% from the free-throw line in his two year career at Union.
This year DJ is averaging 19pts a game, with a career high 42 points in the Middlesex County College game on January 9th. DJ is on the brink of being a 1,000 point scorer and possible All-Region XIX Player. DJ will be making his college choice after the conclusion of the season.
Union County College, the Office of College Life, and their coaching staff look forward to watching them further their success at a NCAA institution.