Paul Hewitt and Mary (Gaudreau) Messer Named Siena College's 2016 MAAC Honor Roll Inductees
MAAC Sports
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced Siena College’s honorees to be inducted in the MAAC Honor Roll. The honorees will be enshrined in “The MAAC Experience” exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on October 15.
Each member institution of the MAAC honors one male and one female from its basketball “family” as part of the 2016 induction class. A dinner event will be on Saturday, October 15, 2016 at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Court of Dreams to recognize the Honor Roll inductees.
Each honoree will be profiled in the game program for the 2017 MAAC Basketball Championships, and will also be featured in a video display at “The MAAC Experience.”
Paul Hewitt (1997-2000) Siena College
Hewitt amassed a stellar 66-27 record during three memorable seasons guiding Siena (1997-00), highlighted by the program’s first MAAC Tournament Championship and second NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999. Named the 11th head coach in Siena Basketball history on Apr. 7, 1997, he led the program to the MAAC Championship Game in each of his three seasons at the helm, a pair of regular season championships (1999, 2000) and an NIT appearance in 2000.
Hewitt’s .709 overall winning percentage is the highest amongst any Siena Basketball coach during the Division I era, and second overall trailing only Jack Carroll (8-2, .800) who served as the program’s first head coach during the inaugural 1938-39 season. Hewitt also recorded an equally impressive 38-16 (.704) conference record, and led the Saints to a 7-2 mark in MAAC Tournament games.
After guiding Siena to an eight-win improvement and a 17-12 mark during his first season, Hewitt piloted the Saints to a 25-6 overall record and a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship in 1998-99. Named Siena’s first-ever MAAC Coach of the Year for his efforts, he steered the Saints to an 82-67 triumph over Saint Peter’s on Mar. 1, 1999 at Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo for the program’s first MAAC Tournament Championship. Siena was rewarded with the No. 13 seed in the West Regional of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, where the Saints fell to fourth seeded Arkansas, 94-80 in Denver.
Hewitt led Siena to a second straight 20-win year in his final season with the program in 1999-00. The Saints finished with a 24-9 mark and captured the MAAC Regular Season Championship outright with a 15-3 league record. Siena capped the Hewitt era by advancing to the second round of the NIT, punctuated by a victory over UMass.
Hewitt has totaled 321 wins overall in 18 seasons as a head coach at three Division I institutions, leading his programs to nine national postseason tournament appearances including six trips to the NCAA Tournament. Following his highly successful stint at Siena, Hewitt went on to serve as the head coach at both Georgia Tech (2000-11) and George Mason (2011-15). He is currently a college basketball television analyst.
Named the 2001 ACC Coach of the Year, Hewitt guided the Yellow Jackets to a 190 wins and five NCAA Tournament appearances including a trip to the 2004 National Championship Game against UConn. He added a pair of 20-win campaigns during his four-year tenure at George Mason, highlighted by a CBI Championship Game appearance in 2013.
A collegiate coach for nearly three decades, Hewitt previously served as an assistant at Villanova (1992-97), Fordham (1990-92), USC (1989-90) and C.W. Post (1988-89). A native of Kingston, Jamaica, he was a four-year letterwinner and senior captain at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, where he graduated with his B.A. in Journalism and Economics in 1985.
Mary (Gaudreau) Messer (1979-1983) Siena College
The former Mary (Gaudreau) Messer starred for the Siena Women’s Basketball program from 1979-83. She is Siena’s all-time leading scorer with 2,084 points in addition to also holding the program’s all-time record for field goals made (891) and ranks second in steals (281).
Messer also boasts Siena’s single-game scoring record with 41 points in a 102-64 win over Molloy on Feb. 20, 1981. She averaged 18.4 points during her brilliant 113-game career, including at least 17.7 points per game during each of her four seasons.
Messer was named the New York State AIAW Division II Player of the Year after guiding Siena to the NYSAIAW Championship in 1982. Siena amassed 84 victories during her prolific career, winning 20 or more games in each season.
Originally from North Adams, Massachusetts, Messer was a two-time First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American. She graduated from Siena College in 1983 with her degree in accounting. Messer was inducted into Siena’s Hall of Fame in 1988.
Messer currently resides in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania with her husband, Jeff, and three children. She has served as the Director of Slippery Rock Area Parks and Recreation for the past 15 years. Jeff is the head baseball coach at Slippery Rock University where he has amassed 937 wins, a .612 winning percentage and led his team to four Division II College World Series appearances in his 31 seasons at the helm. The couple’s son, Billy, serves alongside his father as Slippery Rock’s recruiting coordinator and assistant coach.
The 2016 MAAC Basketball Honor Roll Class:
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Ron Foxcroft
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MAAC Honoree
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Les Lombardi
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MAAC Honoree
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Dr. Daniel P. Starr
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Canisius College
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Shauna (Geronzin) Green
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Canisius College
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Arthur “A.J.” Wynder
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Fairfield University
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Lisa Mikelic
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Fairfield University
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Kashif Hameed
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Iona College
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Sandie Capifali
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Iona College
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Bill Campion
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Manhattan College
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Stacey Jack Edwards
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Manhattan College
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Alan Tomidy
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Marist College
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Stacey (Dengler) Girard
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Marist College
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Corey Albano
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Monmouth University
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Michelle (Allen) Moss
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Monmouth University
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Brian Clifford
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Niagara University
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Samantha (David) Little
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Niagara University
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Rob Monroe
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Quinnipiac University
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Queen Edwards Smith
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Quinnipiac University
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Richard “Dick” Kuchen
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Rider University
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Linda DiGiuseppantonio Genther
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Rider University
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Randy Holmes
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Saint Peter’s University
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Juanita Michelle Foreman
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Saint Peter’s University
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Paul Hewitt
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Siena College
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Mary (Gaudreau) Messer
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Siena College
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