Zach Cooks Earns All-Met Honor for Second-Straight Season

 Zach Cooks, a junior captain on the NJIT men's basketball team, earned another accolade on Tuesday, securing Third Team honors from the Metropolitan Writers Basketball Association (MBWA).

This marks the second-straight season Cooks received the honor as he was joined last season by teammate Abdul Lewis, who picked up Second Team Honors after a spectacular senior campaign. 

Cooks, who led the ASUN in scoring since the beginning of the season, finished atop the points per game leaderboard by more than a point (19.7) ppg. The Lawrenceville, GA, native has scored 20+ points in 18 of 30 games and reached the 30-point mark twice. He led the Highlanders in scoring 24 times this season and currently ranked 35th in the nation in points per game.

Additionally, Cooks' 19.7 ppg is the second-highest single season average in program history (Damon Lynn - 20.6 ppg; 2016-17) and his 1,464 career points rank 10th all-time.

Cooks also led the conference in minutes per game (37.5) and steals per game (1.7) and was tops on NJIT in assists (62). The 5'9 guard ranked second on the team in rebounds per game (5.2). The Second Team All-ASUN honoree recorded a pair of double-doubles this season, including a 17-point, 12-rebound performance in the Highlanders' final game of the season, a tight, six-point loss at top-seeded and eventual ASUN Champion Liberty. 

Earlier this postseason Cooks was named Second Team All-ASUN, Second Team All-NABC District II and Second Team All-ECAC. 

2019-20 All-Met Honorees
First Team
Geo Baker, Rutgers, 6-4, Jr., G, Derry, NH
Desure Buie,Hofstra, 5-11, Sr., G, Bronx, NY
E.J. Crawford, Iona, 6-6, Sr., G-F, Hartford, CT
Romaro Gill, Seton Hall, 7-2, Sr., C, St, Thomas, Jamaica
Quincy McKnight, Seton Hall, 6-4, Sr., G, Bridgeport, CT
Myles Powell, Seton Hall, 6-2, Sr., G, Trenton, NJ

Second Team
E.J. Anosike, Sacred Heart, 6-4, Jr., F, E. Orange, NJ
Raiquan Clark, LIU, 6-6, Gr., G-F, New Haven, CT
Deion Hammond, Monmouth, 6-4, Jr., G, Mitchellville, MD
Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers, 6-6, So. F, Franklin Lakes, NJ
Eli Pemberton, Hofstra, 6-5, Sr., G, Middletown, CT
Dimencio Vaughn, Rider, 6-5, Jr., F, New York, NY

Third Team
Zach Cooks, NJIT, 5-9, Jr., G, Lawrenceville, GA
L.J. Figueroa, St. John's, 6-7, Kr., G-F, Lawrence, MA
Tommy Funk, Army West Point, 5-11, Sr., G, Warrington, PA
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton Hall, 6-11, Jr., F, Tbilisi, Georgia
K.C. Ndefo, Saint Peter's, 6-7, So., F, Elmont, NY
Mike Smith, Columbia, 5-11, Sr., G, Burr Ridge, IL

Player of the Year: Myles Powell, Seton Hall
Coach of the Year: Steve Pikiell, Rutgers
Rookie of the Year: Julian Champagnie, St. John's, 6-8, Fr., F, Brooklyn, NY