Aronson and Dux Named to MAAC Basketball Honor Roll

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced Thursday that Canisius basketball legends Patricia Aronson '81 and Brian Dux '03, MS '13 will be inducted in the 2019 MAAC Honor Roll. Honorees will be enshrined in "The MAAC Experience" exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Each member institution of the MAAC honors one female and one male from its basketball "family" as part of the 2019 induction class. A dinner event takes place Sept. 14 at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Court of Dreams to recognize this year's Honor Roll inductees.

Each honoree will be profiled in the game program for the 2020 MAAC Basketball Championships and will be featured in a video display at "The MAAC Experience."

Patricia Aronson '81
Prior to joining the Canisius women's basketball program for the 1977-78 season, Patricia Aronson averaged 30 points per game in her senior year at Angelica Central School in Angelica, N.Y., highlighted by a 56-point performance that set the Allegany (N.Y.) County scoring record at the time.

Luckily for the Golden Griffins, she continued to be a prolific scorer when she arrived at Canisius.

Aronson averaged 14.8 points per game over 83 career contests in Blue and Gold, and on Jan. 27, 1981, she became the first player in Canisius women's basketball history to reach the famed 1,000-point milestone in a road game at Colgate. Her 14.8 points per game scoring average ranks fourth-best in school history to date, and in 1993, she became the first former member of the Canisius women's basketball program and just the fifth former female student-athlete to be enshrined into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame.

In her first season on Main Street, Aronson led Canisius with her 16.2 points per game, which ranks as the second-highest freshmen year scoring average in program history. She followed her stellar rookie campaign with 15.6 points per game in 1978-79. During that season, she scored in double-figures 14 times in 21 games as the Blue and Gold won a then school-record 15 games and advanced to the EAIAW Tournament in Rochester, N.Y. The 1979-80 season saw her rank second on the team in scoring average at 13.9 points per game while shooting a career-best .518 from the field, as Canisius earned a berth in the NYSAIAW Division II Tournament for the first time in program history. In her senior campaign, Aronson led the Blue and Gold in scoring average with 13.0 points per game as the team posted a 13-11 record and garnered a second-straight trip to the NYSAIAW Division II Tournament.

As of the end of the 2018-19 season, Aronson ranks 13th in program history with her 1,226 career points, and her 35 points scored against Rochester in 1978-79 is tied for the sixth-most points scored by a Canisius women's player in a game at the Koessler Athletic Center.

Aronson, who earned her degree in physical education with a concentration in athletic training from Canisius in 1981, went on to receive her master's degree in sports medicine from the University of Virginia in 1982. In 2005, she earned her PhD in kinesiology from UVA. A member of the Virginia Athletic Trainers' Association, the Mid-Athletic Trainers' Association and the National Athletic Trainers' Association Halls of Fame, she is currently a professor of athletic training at the University of Lynchburg.

She joins with Canisius' previous MAAC Hall of Fame Honor Roll honorees for women's basketball: Karen Freeman (2011-12), Gina Castelli (2012-13), Dr. Ellen Conley (2013-14), Kara Haun-Rehbaum (2014-15), Sister Maria Pares (2015-16), Shauna Green (2016-17), Jénel Stevens (2017-18) and Mike Rappl (2018-19).

Brian Dux '03, MS '13
A native of nearby Orchard Park, N.Y., Brian Dux quickly became a fan-favorite of the Canisius faithful during his playing days from 1999-03, and he is still a recognizable face around the Koessler Athletic Center when he sits in his courtside seats to cheer on the Golden Griffins.

A two-time All-MAAC honoree and the 2002 New York Lottery/MAAC Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Dux is one of three players in the 115-year history of the program to score more than 1,000-career points to go along with 500-plus career assists. At the end of the 2018-19 season, Dux's 1,239 points ranked 19th in school history and his 508 career assists ranks third-best in the school's record book.

Dux played in 119 career games during his time on Main Street, where he made 110 starts. Both of those number rank among the top-10 in school history. After playing in all 30 games as a freshman in 1999-00, Dux earned MAAC All-Tournament Team honors after he averaged 10.4 points and 5.0 assists per game as the Griffs advanced to the 2001 MAAC Tournament Championship game in Buffalo – the program's last title game appearance. In his junior campaign (2001-02), he earned All-MAAC Third Team honors after ranking second in the league with his 4.9 assists per game average, and went on to become just the second player in program history to earn All-Tournament Team accolades in back-to-back seasons after the Blue and Gold upset No. 1 seed Rider in overtime in the quarterfinal round to advance to the conference tournament's semifinal.

Dux, who closed out his collegiate career in 2002-03 by earning All-MAAC Second Team honors, became the 21st player in school history to reach the famed 1,000-career point milestone after he scored 31 points at Iona Jan. 8, 2003. That year, he ranked second on the Griffs' roster with his 14.9 points per game to go with 152 total assists, making him just the fourth player in program history to distribute 100-plus assists in four-straight seasons.

The school's all-time leader in career free-throw percentage at 82.9 percent, Dux currently ranks sixth in career assists per game average at 4.3 per outing, which places him among the top-35 players in MAAC history.

After graduating from Canisius with his undergraduate degree in physical education, Dux went overseas to play professionally for four seasons. His pro career was cut short after a serious car accident in England in 2007. He earned his master's degree in sport administration from Canisius in 2013 and currently serves the head JV boy's basketball coach at Orchard Park High School. In addition owning and operating his own basketball skill-development training program, he speaks to various basketball camps and clinics around Western New York.

Dux joins Canisius' previous MAAC Hall of Fame Honor Roll honorees for men's basketball: Anthony Masiello (2011-12), Hon. Henry Nowak (2012-13), Frank Swiatek (2013-14), "Sugar Ray" Hall (2014-15), Phil Seymore (2015-16), Dr. Dan Starr (2016-17), Craig Wise (2017-18) and Mike Smrek (2018-19).

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