Freshman guard Pharell Aybar was named the Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week for the sixth time this season after his performance the week of February 16-23. The first-year Golden Eagle averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists through games, in addition to shooting 50 percent from the floor. To go along with that the six Rookie of the Weeks Aybar garnered throughout the season, earned him the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year award as well.
“It feels great,” Aybar said. “It’s an individual award, but I wouldn’t have it without my team. I feel like they helped me. And that’s the whole reason that we’re in the playoffs, to begin with, because we’re a team and we stuck together. But it feels great and gives us a little
bit of confidence.”
Aybar credits the people around him with allowing him to perform at this level, while also acknowledging his teammates’ forgiveness of any rookie mistakes on the court.
“Coming here, I didn’t think I was gonna have the opportunity that I did,” Aybar said. “But I was given the opportunity by the coaching staff. They believed in me, they trusted me and my teammates allowed me to make mistakes on the court. That’s why, I guess, we are having the success that we are having.”
With the success SUNY Brockport’s Men’s Basketball has had this season reaching the Empire 8 championship for the first time in program history, the freshman credits his hard work ethic and mental toughness for overcoming any potential obstacles in his way.
“It’s definitely hard work and like just having a next play mentality,” Aybar said. “Like, the game of basketball is going to be full of mistakes. Tough times, ups and downs, but you can’t let that sway you one way, you have to stay level headed, calm, just keep playing the game.”
Although in combination with his weekly award, Aybar and Brockport Basketball have had a strong season, he believes that individual accolades can’t match that potential championship feeling.
“I like to view it as like, we haven’t done anything yet,” Aybar said. “Like, it’s nice to have accolades, but accolades without a championship really don’t mean anything. Honestly, a championship would mean way more to me than any accolade would.”
That’s not how the season finished for Aybar and the Golden Eagles, falling to Keuka in the Empire 8 championship 83-80. The Golden Eagles ended the season with a 16-12 overall record and 10-6 record in conference play, a solid season considering that Brockport started the season 5-10 and 1-5 in conference play.
But with a Rookie of the Year under Aybar’s belt and nine Golden Eagles coming back with him next season, Brockport is ready to reload and win that coveted Empire 8 championship in 2027.
