Dec. 10, 2002

Freshman forward Michael Haddix (Philadelphia, Pa./St. John Neumann) was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday following strong performances in a 1-1 week for the Saints. When the week began, Haddix was seventh in the conference in scoring and tops in field goal percentage.

The freshman power forward earned his first college start in the Saints' MAAC opening win over Canisius on Saturday. That performance foolowed a nine-point, four-rebound effort in a narrow loss at Toledo earlier in the week. Against the Griffs, Haddix reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time in his first five games, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

The highly regarded rookie is currently second on the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 14.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He has converted 61.5% of his field goal attempts on the season.

Haddix has had a huge influence on Siena's 5-1 overall record and 2-0 start in the MAAC. Despite playing just 18 minutes in the opener with Albany, Haddix scored a team-high 19 points, converting 8-of-9 field goal attempts. The 6-6 frosh also grabbed eight rebounds in his Siena debut. He followed that performance up with a 14-point, nine rebound effort in the win over Fordham and against Northern Iowa he surpassed those lofty numbers with a 21-point, eight rebound effort.

For the week in which he was honored, Haddix averaged 11.5 points and six rebounds. He also had just one turnover in 55 minutes of action.

"Michael brings a certain confidence and consistency every night that is unusual in freshman," Head Coach Rob Lanier said. "We are encouraged by what he has done so far and excited for what he will bring to our program in the future."