NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Senior Zach Johnson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and junior Bryan Rosett (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) of the Carleton College men's basketball team have been named to the All-MIAC first team, as announced by the conference coaches.
Rosett was also voted to the five-player All-Defensive Team while rookie guard Blaise Davis (Elk River, Minn.) was selected to the All-First Year Team.
Johnson earned All-MIAC first team honors for the third time, having previously received the distinction following his freshman and junior campaigns. He averaged 22.4 points per game during conference play and became the first Knight since Gerrick Monroe ’93 to pace the league in scoring. He joins Josh Wilhelm '99 (a four-time All-MIAC pick), Gerrick Monroe '93 (three-time All-MIAC) and Tanner Schieck '04 (three-time All-MIAC) as the only other Carleton players to earn All-MIAC honors three or more times since Carleton rejoined the MIAC 25 years ago.
Johnson ranked among league leaders in several other categories. He pulled down 6.3 rebounds per game, finishing eighth in the MIAC and was third in the conference by making 37 three pointers. Not solely a scorer, he dished out 2.8 assists per game to rank seventh in the league. Johnson’s overall scoring average of 22.8 points was the 12th-best in Division III this season and 27th among all NCAA men’s basketball players (Divisions I, II and III).
Johnson’s stellar senior season re-wrote the Carleton record book as the broke the program’s all-time scoring record, finishing with 2,029 points the 16th-highest career point total in Minnesota men’s collegiate basketball history. He became the eighth player from a current MIAC institution to surpass the 2,000-point plateau and the first to do so in a decade.
Johnson received strong consideration for the MIAC’s Player of the Year award, but in voting by conference coaches he was edged by Joe Scott from the University of St. Thomas. While Johnson did not receive this honor, he was previously tabbed by College Sporting News as the MIAC’s Most Valuable Player and Player of the Year, the first time the publication awarded both honors to the same player.
Rosett recorded six double-doubles to highlight his spectacular all-around season. Frequently charged with the responsibility of defending the opposition’s top scorer, he still managed to fill up the stat sheet at both ends of the floor.
He finished 11th in the conference by averaging 12.4 points during MIAC contests. He ripped down 8.3 rebounds to rank sixth in the league and handed out 2.70 assists, tying him for ninth. He was third in the MIAC by connecting on 45.5 percent of his three-point attempts and owned the sixth-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.16. He also had 16 blocked shots, tied for seventh in the league.
The all-around performance of Johnson and Rosett might be best displayed by the fact that they were two of only three MIAC players to rank among conference leaders in points, rebounds and assists in 2008-09. Aaron Burtzell of Saint John’s University was the other.
Davis becomes the 12th Carleton rookie over the last 10 seasons to be selected to the MIAC’s All-First Year Team. In addition to playing point guard, he was one of Carleton’s most consistent three-point threats, shooting 43.4 percent from beyond the arc, the seventh-best rate in the conference. He was also fourth in three-pointers made with 33 and led all first-year players with a 1.83 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranked 12th overall in the league.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the third annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for men's basketball. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition. For the second consecutive season, Bobby Schmitz (Sr./Hastings, Minn.) was tabbed as Carleton's representative on the MIAC’s All-Sportsmanship team.
