Wise Selected to Join MAAC Basketball Honor Roll

Former Canisius men's basketball player Craig Wise '95 has been named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Hall of Fame Honor Roll Class of 2017-18, the league office announced Monday.

Wise, one of three players in school history to be honored as the MAAC Player of the Year, will be enshrined in "The MAAC Experience" exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., on Saturday, Sept. 16.

Considered the "back bone" of the famed Canisius team that advanced to the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden in 1995, Wise ended his career on Main Street as just the fourth player in school history to lead his team in scoring in three-straight seasons (1992-94). The program's first MAAC Rookie of the Year, Wise would go on to score 1,799 points, grab 784 rebounds, dish out 353 assists and record 218 steals in 121 games as a Griff. Through 113 seasons of Canisius basketball, the Philadelphia, Pa., native ranks third all-time in career scoring, fifth in career rebounding, eighth in career assists and second in career steals. In all, Wise ranks in the top-10 in 12 different career statistical categories, and he is the only player in school history to close out his career with more than 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 350 assists.

Wise earned first-team All-MAAC honors in 1993-94 and helped lead the Griffs to a 12-2 conference record en route to the program's only MAAC regular-season title. A MAAC All-Tournament Team selection in 1994, he averaged 18.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in two postseason contests, highlighted by his 23 point, 10 rebound effort in the Griffs' semifinal round loss to Loyola Maryland in Albany's Knickerbocker Arena.

After starting the 1994-95 season as a Preseason All-MAAC selection, Wise averaged 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game in 35 contests. For his efforts, he was again named All-MAAC First Team and became the first player in school history to be honored as the MAAC Player of the Year. The 1994-95 edition of the Griffs won 18 regular season games, including the school's last win over a ranked opponent when the Blue and Gold defeated No. 13 Cincinnati on the road, and posted a 10-4 mark in conference action. Canisius earned a second-straight NIT berth in Wise's senior season, and the Griffs ended up advancing to the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden thanks to three victories, where Wise was good for 17.4 points per contest, highlighted by his career-high 32 point effort in the team's loss to Virginia Tech in a semifinal game.

A two-time team captain, he graduated from Canisius in 1995 with his degree in physical education. He was enshrined into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. He was the 48th men's basketball player in school history to be voted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame.

This season marks the seventh year that the MAAC Hall of Fame Honor Roll has been in existence. Every year, each MAAC member institution honors one male and one female from its "basketball family" as part of the induction class.

A dinner event will be held Sept. 16 at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Court of Dreams to recognize the Honor Roll inductees. Each honoree will also be profiled in the game program for the 2018 MAAC Basketball Championships, and will also be featured in a video display at "The MAAC Experience".

Canisius' previous MAAC Hall of Fame Honor Roll honorees for men's basketball are Anthony Masiello (2011-12), Hon. Henry Nowak (2012-13), Frank Swiatek (2013-14), "Sugar Ray" Hall (2014-15), Phil Seymore (2015-16) and Dr. Dan Starr (2016-17).

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