DesJean, the son of John and Cindy DesJean of Indianapolis, became only the third Little Giant player to average a double-double for a season, finishing the year with an average of 17.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. He joins Wabash Athletic Hall of Famers Pete Metzelaars ’82 and Merlin Nice ’83, who also accomplished the feat in the careers. Metzelaars did it three times, while Nice averaged a double-double his senior season.
DesJean also broke the Wabash single-season record for blocked shots, tallying 61 rejections to eclipse the season record of 51 set twice by All-American Chris Whitfield ’88.
DesJean also made his mark in the conference and national rankings. He led the NCAC in rebounding by averaging 10.6 boards per game. He was also first in the conference in blocked shots (2.44 bpg); ranked fifth in scoring (17.4 ppg); and finished third in field goal percentage by hitting 55.5-percent of his shots.
The sophomore forward is currently 13th in the nation in rebounding, and is 18th in blocked shots. He scored a career-high 30 points at home against Oberlin in an 87-75 Wabash victory on February 10, and had a career-high 16 rebounds against Kenyon on January 2. He also set a career mark for blocked shots in a game with seven against Denison University of January 27.
2001 ALL-NCAC Men's Basketball First Team
Joe DesJean - Wabash
James Knight - Oberlin
Bryan Nelson - Wooster
Antwyan Reynolds - Wooster
Travis Schwab - Ohio Wesleyan
Ryan Taylor - Wittenberg