Takal Molson Named MAAC Rookie of the Year

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced Friday that Canisius freshman guard Takal Molson has been named the 2018 MAAC Rookie of the Year, as voted on by the conference's 11 head coaches. Molson received the award at the MAAC's annual Postseason Awards Show, which was held at Albany Capital Center. The Buffalo, N.Y., native is the fourth Canisius player to win the MAAC's Player of the year title, joining former Griffs Craig Wise (1992), Micheal Meeks (1992) and Frank Turner (2007).

Molson is the first Buffalo native to win the MAAC Rookie of the Year award, and Canisius' four MAAC Rookie of the Year honors are now tied for second-most in league history with Saint Peter's.

"I would like to coach Witherspoon, our coaching staff and most importantly, my teammates," Molson said. "No one plays this game for individual awards, but when you have the chance to receive one, it is very special. I certainly did not accomplish this myself, I have had a lot of help getting to this point along the way. This league has so many good young players. To know that the coaches around the MAAC voted for me is extremely humbling."

Molson finished the regular season third among freshmen scorers in the conference with his 12.6 points per game scoring average. The three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week scored in double-figures 18 times, the most for a Canisius newcomer since Turner scored 10-plus points in a game 20 times in 2006-07. Molson set the program scoring record for points in a college debut by a true freshman when he posted 25 points at Buffalo Nov. 11, and he became the first Canisius player in program history to record a double-double in his first career conference game after he posted 18 points and 10 rebounds in a home win over Rider Dec. 29.

His 392 total points are the most for a Canisius freshman since Ray Hall had 454 points in 1981-82, and he also averaged 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from 3-point land. Molson is the 11th Canisius freshman to earn a place on the MAAC All-Rookie Team.

As a team, Canisius went 21-10 overall and 15-3 in MAAC play to earn the MAAC co-regular-season championship, the first for the program since 1993-94. The second-seeded Griffs will take on Quinnipiac Friday night at 9:30 p.m., in the MAAC Basketball Championship quarterfinal round. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the radio call will be available on Buffalo's WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM, GoGriffs.com and the TUNEIN app.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Takal Molson: G; 6' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#15 Takal Molson
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#15 Takal Molson

Players Mentioned

#15 Takal Molson