BY ANTHONY SACCONE
Staff Reporter
Senior guard Sean Hoehn of the Sacred Heart men’s basketball team has been selected by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) to represent the Northeast Conference (NEC) in the second annual 3-on-3 National Championship. The tournament is scheduled for April 5- 7, and will be played at Minnesota’s Mall of America.
Last year’s tournament was won by the Big Ten conference which consisted of players from Ohio State University, Indiana University, and The University of Minnesota.
The tournament consists of teams of seniors who have exhausted their college eligibility. In the tournament, all 32 Division I conferences will be represented.
“Once I found out I was picked to represent the NEC and Sacred Heart in the tournament, it was an honor,” said Hoehn. “There are some really big names that are going to compete in the tournament and it will be a really good way to measure up against these teams and show them smaller conferences like ours are just as good.”
In his senior season, Hoehn averaged 17.9 points per game, and shot 47.4% from the field. Hoehn posted double-digit points in 28 of the Pioneers 32 games this season. The three-point shot was a key to Hoehn’s game as he shot 40.6% from three-point range.
Hoehn was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District First Team, as well as being named to the All-NEC First team.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without my teammates. They always put me in a great position to play my game,” said Hoehn. “We started to play really well once we played together. That’s when my individual accolades started to really show.”
Hoehn finished his career with 1,366 career points and 185 three-pointers, which is seventh all-time in program history.
“You can’t even put into words what Sean has meant to the team, and the way he has led the program these last two years is pretty special,” said junior teammate Kinnon LaRose. “Sean is a great guy and a great leader and I think that transcends onto the court and the team really feeds off that.”
Sacred Heart head coach Anthony Latina had high praise for what Hoehn has meant to both the basketball program and the school.
“By having a young team, Sean really showed the young guys what it takes to compete at a high level through his work ethic and leadership,” said Latina. “Sean is how we want all our student athletes to end up. He worked for everything he got and he represented our program and our university in a first-class manner.”
It is just as an exciting time for Hoehn’s teammates to see him compete in the 3-on-3 national championship tournament.
“It’s going to be awesome. Sean is the best person to represent our school and our conference,“ said LaRose. “Our team is really happy for Sean as he gets an opportunity to go out to the Final Four and play against all these good players.”
The champions of the tournament will receive a $150,000 prize, and they will also earn a spot in the USA basketball 3-on-3 national championship in May.
“The goal is to go out there and win the tournament,” said Hoehn. “If we win I walk away with $25,000 cash just for playing a basketball game. What is better than that?”
