In a season full of awards, freshman point guard Dylan Garrity can add another one to the list as he was selected The State Hornet’s Best Male Athlete of the 2012 spring semester. 

“I just look at it as all my hard work during the preseason and during the season is starting to pay off,” Garrity said. 

Garrity started in 27 of the 28 games this season as a true freshman and averaged 33.8 minutes per game, which was second on the team. 

Garrity only averaged 8.1 points per game, but that was because of his pass-first mentality.

 Garrity put together five double-digit assist games, including a Sacramento State record 16 assists against Montana State University on Feb. 9.

 Garrity ended the season tied for the Sac State single-season record for assists per game with 6.9 per game and his record tying assist mark put him at the top of the Big Sky Conference and sixth in all of Division I basketball for the season.

 Garrity’s skill on the court this season also helped the Hornets continue increasing their win total for the third straight year. Their 10-win season was the first double-digit win total since the 2006-07 season.

 For all of his success this season, Garrity was named the Big Sky Freshman of the Year. He is the third Hornet in school history to receive the award. 

He was also one of 25 athletes from around the nation selected to the collegeinsider.com’s Mid-Major Freshman All-America Team. 

“I think all the awards I won just put a huge target on my back,” Garrity said. “The experience I gained last year will help immensely going into next year. I feel almost like a veteran. My confidence, I believe, will pick right back up where we ended the season. I feel like I was just starting to get everything toward the end of conference play.” 

Garrity’s grandmother Karen Garrity said she has been following Dylan all her life and she and the Garrity family are proud of what he has done.

 “We are all very, very proud of him,” Karen Garrity said. “He worked very hard and we think he deserves it and we are proud of him.”

 With three seasons remaining, Garrity has plenty of time to build on his first-year success and senior center Josh McCarver said he is excited to see what Garrity will do in his time here.

 “I can’t wait to see where he progresses and where he is able to take the team,” McCarver said. “He has all the potential in the world and I fully expect him to make the most out of it.”

Additional Comments about Garrity

Grandmother Karen Garrity

“I have been to almost every game he has ever played in since he was tall enough to play. I followed him all through grammar school and high school, a lot of the family did, but I think I have been to more games than anybody besides his parents. I am just so proud of him. He is a wonderful boy besides being a wonderful athlete.”

Teammate Joe Eberhard

“He is a huge part of our success. He was the engine that made us go. Having the ball in his hands so much and creating the offense for us. How he plays makes us play hard. By knowing he will find us when we are open, it makes us work hard because we know he will find us.”

Teammate Josh McCarver

 “A basketball team’s point guard is like the general on the court,” McCarver said. “He’s essentially the coach on the floor. I would hate to discredit what other members of the team did for us this past season, but Dylan was definitely a big part of the success.”

Teammate Jordan Estrada

“The kid has to have the basketball in his hands the majority of the game and does the right things to give us a chance to win. He’s a smart decision maker, good passer and can shoot.”

Josh Stanley can be reached at [email protected].