Johns Hopkins junior Joel Wertman (Poland, OH/Poland Seminary), who finished second in three different statistical categories, was named the 1999 Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year in balloting by the 10 head coaches. Wertman, a 6-6 forward, led the Blue Jays to a second-place finish in the West Division and their third straight playoff appearance. He leads the team in scoring (18.3), rebounding (8.6), field goal percentage (56.5) and free throw percentage (72.0), while placing second in blocked shots (0.71). A unanimous first-team All-CC selection, Wertman becomes the third consecutive Blue Jay to receive the honor, following in the footsteps of Greg Roehrig '98 and Matt Gorman '97.

Muhlenberg senior center Jim Doumato (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) earns his second straight first-team nod after leading the Mules to the East Division crown averaging 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He is just the sixth Centennial player to earn first-team All-Conference honors twice. Gettysburg junior Bill Davidson (Lebanon, PA/Annville-Cleona) rounds out the frontcourt first-teamers. He led the Bullets with 14.7 points per game and was tied for the team lead in blocks with 16.

The two backcourt spots went to Franklin & Marshall senior Matt Leddy (Columbia, PA/Columbia) and Ursinus sophomore Richard Barrett (Buckingham, PA/Central Bucks East). Leddy led the Diplomats their fourth CC West Division championship in the six years of conference history. He led the team in scoring with 12.8 points per game. Barrett helped his team tie for second place in the East Division, forcing a tiebreaker game with Washington. He scored 20 points in the 72-69 loss. He led the conference in scoring during the regular season, scoring 512 points for a 21.3 average.

The Centennial Conference playoffs continue on Wednesday night at two sites. Muhlenberg (17-7) plays host to Johns Hopkins (19-5) at 8:30 p.m., while Franklin & Marshall (21-3) hosts Washington (6-9) for a 7:30 start. The winners will meet Saturday at a campus site to be determined. If Muhlenberg defeats Johns Hopkins, the title game will be in Allentown. Otherwise, the championship tilt will be held at the winner of the Franklin & Marshall-Washington game.

1999 All-Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Team

First Team
Pos.	Name				Cl.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
F	Joel Wertman, Johns Hopkins	Jr.	6-6	Poland, OH / Poland Seminary
F   *	Jim Doumato, Muhlenberg		Sr.	6-7	Clifton, NJ / Clifton
F	Bill Davidson, Gettysburg	Jr.	6-4	Lebanon, PA / Annville-Cleona	
G   #	Matt Leddy, Franklin & Marshall	Sr.	6-4	Columbia, PA / Columbia
G   +	Richard Barrett, Ursinus	So.	6-6	Buckingham, PA / Central Bucks East


Second Team
Pos.	Name				Cl.	Ht.	Hometown / High School
F	Alex Kraft, Franklin & Marshall	Fr.	6-4	Lansdale, PA / Lansdale Catholic
F	Matt Schneider, Muhlenberg	Jr.	6-6	Lawrenceville, NJ / Lawrence
F	Earl Piner, Washington		So.	6-4	Elkton, MD / Elkton
G	Kevin Carroll, Gettysburg	Sr.	6-1	Bensalem, PA / Holy Ghost Prep
G 	Steve DeVore, Washington	Jr.	6-1	Hagerstown, MD / S. Hagerstown


Honorable Mention
Pos.	Name				Cl.	Ht.	Hometown / High School
F 	Brian Billman, Western Maryland	Jr.	6-4	Hanover, PA / Delone Catholic
G   +	Tim Schofield, Swarthmore	Sr.	6-3	Cherry Hill, NJ / Cherry Hill East
G	Greg Adams, Washington		So.	6-0	Toms River, NJ / Toms River North


*	1st-team All-Centennial in 1998
+	2nd-team All-Centennial in 1998
#	Honorable Mention All-Centennial in 1998

Wertman led the Blue Jays to a second-place finish in the West Division and their third straight playoff appearance, heading to Muhlenberg in the semifinals on Wednesday, February 24. He leads the team in scoring (18.3), rebounding (8.9), field goal percentage (56.5) and free throw percentage (72.0), while placing second in blocked shots (17).

A unanimous first-team All-Centennial Conference selection, Wertman becomes the third consecutive Blue Jay to receive the honor, following in the footsteps of Greg Roehrig '98 and Matt Gorman '97.