In a league where Vermont and Albany were more than a class above the rest for most of the year, those teams do not necessarily walk away with all the hardware. Here are this year’s America East awards ‘

Rookie of the Year: Lazar Trifunovic, Binghamton

Aside from player of the year, this is the hardest call to make. Vermont’s Joe Trapani was off to a stellar start in his freshman season, leading the Catamounts in scoring in nine of their first 16 games, cracking the 20-point mark six times in that span. However, he broke his foot in a game against Maine in January and was sidelined for seven games.

So the award goes to Trifunovic, and not because we are a Binghamton newspaper. For the first time in a long time he gave the Bearcats a natural presence in the paint. He improved what seemed like every game, eventually becoming a main cog in the Bearcats’ offensive system; Binghamton’s offense didn’t click for much of the year until the ball started rotating through Lazar’s hands, either for his baby-hook or for a kick-out pass when he was double teamed. Sebastian Hermenier always played tough underneath and Nick Billings may have been a mainstay, but neither ever looked as natural playing under the basket as Trifunovic does.

Bottom line ‘ no award should be given to a guy who misses significant time. Trapani did play exceptionally well at first; his 15 points and six rebounds per game before the injury got the ball rolling for the Catamount’s run at another eventual America East regular season title. But Lazar picked up steam through the whole conference schedule. The Bearcats’ offense was exponentially better when Lazar played well, including a stretch where Binghamton won three games in 11 days to go from eighth place to sixth at season’s end. Trifunovic gets the nod here.

Coach of the Year: Randy Monroe, UMBC

Yes, I know that Mike Lonergan’s Catamounts and Will Brown’s Great Danes had better seasons. But after a tough year last year, not much was expected from the Retrievers this season. And though the AE parity may have aided their climb up the conference standings, going from eighth place last year to a tie for fourth is no small achievement. Monroe, known more at times for his fiery sideline personality than anything else, brought in a whole new staff of assistant coaches for this season and the team responded to the challenge Monroe put forth after UMBC was picked to finish eighth once again. He brought out the best in a young team (UMBC only has one senior) and, despite playing streaky at times and a so-so finish, Monroe turned his team, which would have won the Surprise of the Year award if we had one, from an AE joke into a team to watch out for.

Comeback of the Year: Kevin Reed, Maine

Before the 2005-06 season, Maine was picked to finish third in the conference preseason polls, even garnering a first place vote. Guard Kevin Reed was named All-Conference first team and was expected to lead them. But Reed ended up missing the whole season with a stress fracture in his left foot and Maine dropped to a tie for sixth in the America East and a first round exit in the conference tournament. At the time of his injury, Reed was the conference’s active leader in career points and rebounds, but there were questions as to whether he would be able to get his athleticism back following the fracture.

But Reed did come back and was as strong as could be. He was recognized again by the AE coaches and was awarded a spot on the preseason All-Conference team. Reed then went on to average 14 points, six rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, the only player from the conference to register in the top 10 in all three categories. Maine rebounded to finish in fourth place in the conference and Reed led the Black Bears in scoring in 10 of 16 conference games. Reed is the unquestioned choice for this award.

Player of the Year: This award could easily go to any one of five players: Mike Gordon, Hartford big man Bo Taylor, Maine guard Kevin Reed, Albany star Jamar Wilson or Vermont’s Mike Trimboli. In this year of AE parity, even Trifunovic, who was 19th in the conference in scoring and fourth in rebounding and field goal percentage, merits at least some thought.

But the award goes to Trimboli. In only his second year, he has proved he has the instinct and the strength to play with the big boys. When Joe Trapani got hurt, Trimboli stepped up and led the Catamounts in points in six of the seven games Trapani missed. And not only was he scoring, he led the team in assists in five of those games as well. He carried Vermont back to the top of the conference in a year when Albany was supposed to be insurmountable, and did it with grace under fire in a town that has come to expect NCAA tournament trips and is especially hungry after missing out last year.

When Trimboli arrived in Burlington, Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine were graduating and Tom Brennan was retiring. But instead of worrying about that, Trimboli has stepped up and become one of the best players and leaders in the conference. He may be the next Sorrentine, and while that’s bad news for the rest of the AE, it’s surely enough to award this year’s Player of the Year award to Mike Trimboli.