Men's Basketball 30th Anniversary Celebration: 2000s All-Decade Team Announced
BALTIMORE, Md. – Goucher Athletics has announced the 2000s Men's Basketball All-Decade Team after a week of online voting through the website. This All-Decade vote is part of the 30th Anniversary of the men's basketball first season as a varsity program in 1990-91.
Guards: Jonathan Garritt, Pierre Jones, Thabo Letsebe
Forwards: Trevor Quinn, Garrrett Smith
Honorable Mentions: Cameron Brown (F), James Russo (G)
"It's great to honor this talented group of players selected to the 2000s Men's Basketball All-Decade team," said Gophers men's basketball head coach Tom Rose. "Just as we have for the players from the other decades, we greatly appreciate the commitment and dedication from them and their teammates. The 2000s was a historical decade in the program's history as it transitioned from the Capital Athletic Conference to the Landmark Conference."
Goucher won 104 games in the 2000s decade, including five non-losing seasons and an 82-74 mark in the first six years of the decade. The 2000s included five players who earned All-Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) recognitions for a total of six honors along with four 1,000-point scorers. In addition, the Gophers made the transition from the CAC to the Landmark Conference in the 2007-08 season. Goucher was a member of the CAC for the first 16 seasons in program history and boasted a 117-105 record in conference play in those years.
The players selected for the All-Decade teams for the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s will now head to the Men's Basketball 30th Anniversary Fan Vote on March 1-5. The ballot will consist of 14 guards and 11 forwards. Three guards and two forwards will be selected for a first, second, and third-team and the remaining five guards and five forwards will be named honorable mentions.
To be eligible for the 2000s All-Decade Team, a student-athlete must have competed for at least two seasons between the 1999-00 season and 2009-09 seasons and must graduate from the college. Also, only the statistics during those years are eligible.
Guards
Garritt, who played for the Gophers from 2002 to 2006, appeared in 103 games with 96 starts, 1,307 points, 442 rebounds, 286 assists, and 167 steals in his four-year career. An All-CAC second-team performer as a junior, Garritt ranks sixth in program history in points, third in 3-pointers made (167), and fourth in field goals made (481).
Jones donned the Blue and Gold from 2002 to 2004 and the 2006-07 season. He appeared in 77 games with 51 starts, 1,129 points, 450 rebounds, 72 assists, and 64 steals in his career. Jones, who was the last player to score 1,000 points before Dwayne Morton joined the club on February 1, 2020, ranks seventh in program history in career points and second in career field goal percentage (51.9). Named to the all-conference second team as a freshman, he scored a career-best 38 points against St. Mary's on January 23, 2007.
Letsebe helped usher in the decade of the 2000s, playing in Baltimore from 1999 to 2003. Letsebe, who is one of two players in the decade to earn All-CAC first-team honors in 2001-02, ended his career with 102 games played, 66 starts, 1,120 points, 621 rebounds, 187 steals, 157 assists, and 69 blocks. He ranks fourth in blocks, fourth in steals, fifth in rebounds per game (6.1), and eighth in points for his career. Letsebe also holds the program's single-season record for field goal percentage (58.2).
Forwards
Quinn appeared for the Gophers from 2001 to 2004 and appeared in 105 games with 82 starts, 1,036 points, 561 rebounds, 402 assists, and 140 steals. Quinn is the only player in program history to register a triple-double after turning the trick with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists against Salisbury on January 12, 2005. He tied the program record for assists in that contest against Salisbury and against Apprentice School on December 11, 2004. Quinn, an all-conference second-team performer in his senior year, holds the program record for career assists and assists in a single season (138, 2004-05) and ranks second in rebounds and fifth in blocks (65) in his career.
Smith only donned the Blue and Gold for two seasons from 2003 to 2005 but is also the only player in the decade to earn a pair of All-CAC honors in the decade along with being named the CAC Player of the Year in 2004-05. He appeared in 53 games including 35 starts with 818 points and 438 rebounds in his two seasons and earned second-team honors in 2002-03 and first-team recognition in 2003-04. Smith has registered three rebounds with at least 16 rebounds, including 17 boards (third-most in program history) against St. Mary's on February 16, 2005. Smith ranks second in program history for career rebounds per game (8.3) and third in points per game (15.4) while holding the single-season record for rebounds (268) and rebounds per game (9.9) for his efforts in the 2004-05 season.
Honorable Mention
Brown played for the Gophers for four years over the span of six seasons (2002-03, 2004-05, 2006-08), appearing in 88 contests with 38 starts, 653 points, 343 rebounds, 83 steals and 57 assists in his collegiate career. He notched his best season in a Goucher uniform as a junior with 237 points and 141 rebounds in 26 games played with 23 starts. Brown's final two seasons marked the program's final year in the CAC and the inaugural season in the Landmark Conference.
Russo played three seasons on the hardwood from 2004 to 2007 for Goucher. He appeared in 76 games with 70 starts, 1,316 points, 314 rebounds, 111 steals, and 97 assists in his career. Russo ranks second in program history in points per game (17.3) and fifth in points while holding the program record for points per game in a season (21.9) and 3-pointers made (99) for the 2005-06 season. Russo has posted three games of 33 points or more, including a 38-point performance against St. Mary's on February 15, 2006.