Tiffin’s Graessle Tabbed “Freshman of the Year,” FSU’s Sall Earns “Coach of the Year” Honors
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BAY CITY, Mich. --
Senior forward Justin Keenan (Grand Rapids, Mich./Ottawa
Hills) of Ferris State University has been selected as the
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men’s
basketball “Player of the Year” for the second
consecutive season. Rookie guard Joe Graessle (Grove
City, Ohio/Bishop Ready) of Tiffin University was chosen
as “Freshman of the Year,” while FSU head coach
Bill Sall earned GLIAC “Coach of the
Year” honors. All three were selected by the GLIAC
men’s basketball coaches in conjunction with all-conference
balloting.
Keenan paced the GLIAC in
scoring for the third consecutive season by averaging a personal
career-high 21.9 points per game. He also had his best season
to date on the glass with a league-best 10 rebounds a contest and
is presently the only player in Division II basketball to rank
among the nation’s top 20 performers in both
categories. The returning GLIAC “Player of the
Year” became the league’s all-time career scoring
leader in the regular-season finale versus Grand Valley State (Feb.
26) after being tabbed as the Division II Bulletin Preseason
National Player of the Year. In addition to leading the
league in scoring and rebounding, Keenan also totaled a league-best
13 double-double efforts and had a conference-best three games of
30 plus points or more this campaign. The 6-7 Keenan becomes
just the third player in GLIAC history to win multiple
“Player of the Year” awards.
In his first season with the Dragons,
Graessle started all 26 games and finished 14th
overall and second among freshmen in the GLIAC with 14.3 points per
game. Graessle also led the conference with 2.9
three-pointers made per game. He tallied 20 or more points in a
single game five different times this year, including 30 in
Tiffin’s win over Ohio Valley (W.Va.) University and a
double-double with 14 points and 10 boards against Salem
International (W.Va.) University. In TU’s 19-point win over
Saginaw Valley State University, Graessle hit four three-pointers
in the period of 2:17 in the first half. He was named the GLIAC
“Player of the Week” after scoring 47 points in two
games the last week of January.
Sall directed the Bulldogs to
their first GLIAC North Division Championship in six years as they
recorded a 16-3 league regular season mark this season.
FSU’s 21 wins overall this campaign are the program’s
most since reaching the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen with a 24-7
mark under Sall’s leadership in 2004-05. The ninth-year
head coach also guided Ferris State to its sixth GLIAC Tournament
berth in the last seven years and a second-straight final four
appearance while cracking the national rankings for the first time
in more than four years. Additionally, Sall’s squad
earned the league’s top overall seed and the right to host
the GLIAC Semifinals/Finals for the first time since the 1994-95
season.
Joining Keenan on the All-GLIAC North Division
First Team are: junior guard Greg Foster (Indianapolis,
Ind./T.C. Howe) of Saginaw Valley State; senior guard
Darien Gay (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford) of Ferris
State; senior guard/forward Justin Ringler (Reed City,
Mich.) of Grand Valley State University; and sophomore
center Ali Haidar (Windsor, Ont./Forster) of
Michigan Technological University.
The All-GLIAC South Division First Team
includes: junior guard Kyle Caiola (Parma,
Ohio/UMass-Lowell) and senior guard Nathan Hyde
(Findlay, Ohio/Liberty Benton) of the University of
Findlay; junior guard/forward Brent Eaton (Middlebury,
Ind./Northridge) of Hillsdale College; sophomore guard
Mike Hollingsworth (Utica, Mich.) and senior guard
Bryan Smothers (Pontiac, Mich./Northern) of Wayne
State University.
Below is the complete list of the 2011 All-GLIAC Men's Basketball Teams.
Great Lakes Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference |
||||
Player of the Year: Justin Keenan - Ferris State University (Sr./F-C/Grand Rapids, Mich./Ottawa Hills) |
||||
Freshman of the Year: Joe Graessle - Tiffin University (Fr./G/Grove City, Ohio/Bishop Ready) |
||||
Coach of the Year: Bill Sall - Ferris State University |
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|
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GLIAC North Division All-Conference First Team |
||||
Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/Previous School |
Greg Foster |
Saginaw Valley State University |
Jr |
G |
Indianapolis, Ind./T.C. Howe |
Darien Gay |
Ferris State University |
Sr. |
G |
Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford |
Ali Haidar |
Michigan Technological University |
So. |
C |
Windsor, Ont./Forster |
Justin Keenan |
Ferris State University |
Sr. |
F |
Grand Rapids, Mich./Ottawa Hills |
Justin Ringler |
Grand Valley State University |
Sr. |
G/F |
Reed City, Mich. |
|
|
|
|
|
GLIAC South Division All-Conference First Team |
||||
Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/Previous School |
Kyle Caiola |
University of Findlay |
Jr. |
G |
Parma, Ohio/UMass-Lowell |
Brent Eaton |
Hillsdale College |
Jr. |
G/F |
Middlebury, Ind./Northridge |
Mike Hollingsworth |
Wayne State University |
So. |
G |
Utica, Mich. |
Nathan Hyde |
University of Findlay |
Sr. |
G |
Findlay, Ohio/Liberty Benton |
Bryan Smothers |
Wayne State University |
Sr. |
G |
Pontiac, Mich./Northern |
|
|
|
|
|
GLIAC North Division All-Conference Second Team |
||||
Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/Previous School |
Jared Benson |
Northern Michigan University |
Jr. |
C |
Carney, Mich./Carney Nadeau |
Mike Hojnacki |
Michigan Technological University |
Jr. |
F |
Milwaukee, Wis./New Berlin Eisenhower |
Kyle Hunt |
Lake Superior State University |
Jr. |
G |
Macomb, Mich./Henry Ford II |
James Thomas |
Grand Valley State University |
Jr. |
G |
Grand Rapids, Mich./G.R.C.C. |
Lou Williams |
Ferris State University |
Sr. |
G/F |
Muskegon Heights, Mich. |
|
|
|
|
|
GLIAC South Division All-Conference Second Team |
||||
Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/Previous School |
Ethan Bradshaw |
Lake Erie College |
Sr. |
G |
Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep |
Tyler Gerber |
Hillsdale College |
Jr. |
G |
Baltic, Ohio/Sugarcreek Garaway |
Aaron Gibbs |
Ohio Dominican University |
Jr. |
F |
Oberlin, Ohio/Myers Park |
Kale Richardson |
Ashland University |
Sr. |
F |
Carroll, Ohio/Bloom-Carroll |
Evan Yates |
Ashland University |
So. |
C |
Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills |
|
|
|
|
|
GLIAC North Division All-Defensive Team |
||||
Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/Previous School |
Dontae Molden |
Ferris State University |
Jr. |
G |
Detroit, Mich./Pershing |
Justin Ringler |
Grand Valley State University |
Sr. |
G/F |
Reed City, Mich. |
Alvin Storrs |
Grand Valley State University |
Jr. |
G |
Northville, Mich. |
Chris Webb |
Saginaw Valley State University |
So. |
G |
Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill |
Lou Williams |
Ferris State University |
Sr. |
G/F |
Muskegon Heights, Mich. |
|
|
|
|
|
GLIAC South Division All-Defensive Team |
||||
Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/PreviousSchool |
Tyler Gerber |
Hillsdale College |
Jr. |
G |
Baltic, Ohio/Sugarcreek Garaway |
Nick Meinert |
Hillsdale College |
Sr. |
G |
Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis |
Aaron Robinson |
University of Findlay |
So. |
G |
Trotwood, Ohio/Madison |
Bryan Smothers |
Wayne State University |
Sr. |
G |
Pontiac, Mich./Northern |
Ike Udanoh |
Wayne State University |
Sr. |
C |
Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower |