NEC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

20. Demetre Roberts

Roberts is a 5’8 point guard from Mount Vernon, New York who spent four seasons at St. Thomas Aquinas under head coach Tobin Anderson. When his coach departed for Fairleigh Dickinson in 2022, Roberts followed him and became the Knights’ starting point guard. This was a great decision.

In that lone season, he averaged 16.6 points and 4.2 assists a game and was a major part of history. Roberts played a major role during a great season for Fairleigh Dickinson, who’d beat Texas Southern in the First Four before an all-time upset over top-seed Purdue in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Roberts had a few 25-point performances earlier in the season and did have 20 points in their second round loss to Florida Atlantic, but he clearly had little difficult adjusting to the NEC and D1 basketball.

Roberts earned First Team All-NEC honors in a season where he lead his league in assists and free throw shooting. He became the Knights’ leading scorer, with his 614 points making him 2nd in the NEC that season. Most importantly, he played an important role in that historic performance against Purdue and was not intimidated by D1 basketball, spending his entire career as a phenomenal weapon for Tobin Anderson.