Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University collected three major awards and three all-conference accolades as the New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its
2021-22 season honors.
DJ Campbell (Vineland/Vineland) was voted NJAC Player of the Year while
Kyion Flanders (Wildwood/Wildwood) was chosen NJAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Scott Bittner was selected NJAC Coach of the Year to round out the trio of award winners. Campbell and Flanders, both juniors, were named to the NJAC First Team while fellow junior
Kadian Dawkins (Eastampton/Rancocas Valley) earned an NJAC Honorable Mention nod.
Bittner received his second NJAC Coach of the Year award in his sixth season as the head coach of the Ospreys. He has helmed Stockton to a 22-4 record, first place in the NJAC standings and a berth in the NJAC semifinals. The Ospreys are ranked first in NCAA Region IV and 25th in the D3hoops.com national poll.
Campbell has had a remarkable season on the offensive and defensive front, ranking in the top seven in the conference in eight different categories. He leads the league in scoring (19.2 ppg) and stands tied for second in three-pointers (3.0/game). Campbell is tied for third in steals (2.3 spg) and fourth in free throw percentage (.837) and three-point field goal percentage (.360).
He also ranks fourth in minutes played (33.8 mpg) plus tied for sixth in blocked shots (0.7 bpg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.407). With 499 points thus far, Campbell is on the cusp of becoming the eighth different player in Stockton history to produce a 500-point season.
Campbell, who was named NJAC Player of the Week on January 10, became the sixth Osprey to be voted NJAC Player of the Year and first since Josh Blamon in 2015. He was the 2020 NJAC Rookie of the Year and is now a two-time NJAC First Teamer plus NJAC Honorable Mention in 2020.
Flanders became the second straight Osprey, following
Tariq Baker last year, and fourth overall to collect the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year award. He is tied with Campbell for third in the conference in steals (2.3 spg), and his prowess at drawing charges and playing lockdown defense goes beyond the statistics.
Flanders earned his third straight NJAC all-conference honor and second NJAC First Team nod (2022, 2019) to go with an NJAC Second Team honor a year ago. He was named NJAC Player of the Week on January 31.
Flanders is seventh in the league in minutes (31.7 mpg) and eighth in three-pointers (2.2/game) to with averages of 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Dawkins received all-conference recognition for the first time with his NJAC Honorable Mention spot. The point guard leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.2) and stands fourth in assists (4.3 apg) as well as sixth in minutes played (32.1 mpg).
Dawkins, the only Stockton player to start all 26 games, has 113 assists already this season, which is tied for the eighth-highest season total in Stockton history. His 11 assists versus Rutgers-Camden on November 23 are the most by an NJAC player in a game this season.
In addition to expertly directing the Stockton offense, Dawkins is contributing 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and shooting 50 percent from the field (109-218).
Stockton will host No. 4 seed Montclair State in an NJAC Tournament semifinal tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The Ospreys are seeking their third consecutive berth in the NJAC championship game.
