SUNYAC Men's Basketball All-Decade Team

CORTLAND, N.Y. – Former Plattsburgh State men's basketball student-athlete Jonathan Patron (Huntington, N.Y./Harborfields; 2015-19) has been named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men's Basketball Athlete of the Decade, while two former Cardinals joined him on the SUNYAC Men's Basketball All-Decade Team, as announced Thursday by the conference office.

In addition to Patron, Kyle Richardson (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin; 2014-16) and Chris Ruiz (Washington Heights, N.Y./Bronx St. Agnes; 2007-11) were named to the All-Decade Team. Plattsburgh State tied with SUNY Brockport and Oswego State for the most All-Decade Team selections (three).

Each school was responsible for nominations and voting. The final team selected consisted of 15 players to mirror the size of an annual all-conference team, but was not broken down by position. To be eligible, players had to have played at least one season between the 2009-10 season and the 2018-19 season and must have either been named All-SUNYAC at least twice or a SUNYAC Athlete of the Year once.

Patron cemented himself as one of the best players in program history with a career that included two All-America honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) (First Team in 2017-18, Second Team in 2018-19), one All-America nod from D3hoops.com (Honorable Mention in 2017-18) and one All-America plaudit from DIII News (Third Team in 2017-18). He was a two-time SUNYAC Player of the Year (2018-19, 2017-18), the NABC East District Player of the Year in 2017-18 and the D3hoops.com East Region Player of the Year in 2017-18, and he earned 2017-18 SUNYAC Tournament MVP honors following a conference championship game in which he scored 41 points on 16-of-23 shooting from the field in a 93-80 win over SUNY Oneonta. Patron earned First-Team All-SUNYAC honors in both 2018-19 and 2017-18, and he was a Second-Team All-SUNYAC selection in 2016-17. He earned SUNYAC Rookie of the Year recognition in 2015-16, and he capped off his prolific career by participating in the Reese's Division III College All-Star Game in 2018-19.
 
In the program's career record book, he holds the all-time scoring record (1,936 points) and the mark for field goals made (736) while ranking fifth in rebounds (993). Patron, who shot 51.6 percent (736-of-1,425) from the floor across his four years wearing a Cardinal uniform, averaged 19.8 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game and 0.7 steals per game during his career. He was a two-time Plattsburgh State Male Athlete of the Year (2018-19, 2017-18) and concluded his playing career by earning the Plattsburgh State Male Senior Achievement Award in 2018-19. As a team, Plattsburgh State went 78-30 overall during his four years, making three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances (including a trip to the round of 16 in 2017-18) and winning one SUNYAC title in 2017-18.
 
Richardson earned a spot on the All-Decade Team due to his 2015-16 campaign, which served as one of the best single seasons any student-athlete in the conference achieved during the decade. That year, he earned NABC First-Team All-America honors, D3hoops.com Second-Team All-America accolades and DIII News Fourth-Team All-America laurels in addition to being named the D3hoops.com East Region Player of the Year, the NABC East Region Player of the Year and the SUNYAC Player of the Year. Richardson also earned D3hoops.com First-Team All-Region, NABC First-Team All-District and First-Team All-SUNYAC mention while being selected to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team, all in 2015-16. He capped off the season by participating in the NABC Reese's Division III College All-Star Game and was named the Plattsburgh State Male Athlete of the Year. An NCAA Division II transfer from Millersville University, Richardson tallied 858 career points (8.3 per game) and 519 career rebounds (5.2 per game) across two seasons with the Cardinals. During his standout 2015-16 campaign, he averaged 19.9 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game. As a team, Plattsburgh State went 40-14 overall during his two years with the program, making one NCAA Division III Tournament appearance (2015-16).
 
Ruiz starred for the Cardinals during the beginning of the decade, with his top honor coming in 2009-10 when he was named a DIII News Honorable Mention All-America selection. He earned NABC First-Team All-District laurels and D3hoops.com Second-Team All-Region kudos in 2009-10, and he was an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Second-Team All-Star that season as well. Ruiz picked up First-Team All-SUNYAC honors three times (2010-11, 2009-10, 2008-09) and was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team twice (2010-11, 2009-10). He ranks third in program history in career scoring (1,611) and career field goals made (589), and he averaged 14.6 points per game during his tenure in a Cardinal uniform. As a team, Plattsburgh State went 73-37 overall during his four years with the program, winning two SUNYAC titles (2009-10, 2007-08) and making two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances (including a trip to the round of 16 in 2007-08).

Oswego State head coach Jason Leone earned SUNYAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Decade honors.