GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the postseason awards for the 2022-23 men's basketball season on Friday, as voted on by the league coaches. Parkside sophomore guard Rasheed Bello was selected as the GLIAC Player of the Year, Northern Michigan guard Max Weisbrod was named freshman of the year and Parkside's Luke Reigel was honored as conference coach of the year.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Rasheed Bello, Parkside
Rasheed Bello becomes the first Parkside player to win the GLIAC Player of the Year since the Rangers joined the conference in 2018. The 2022 GLIAC freshman of the year, raised the bar in year two, starting in every game for the Rangers. Bello led the Rangers on both ends of the floor during the regular season. The Chicago native averaged 18.5 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting from the floor this season. Bello also ranked near the top in the league in assists and field goals made. As impressive as Bello has been on the offensive end, he has been equally as impressive on the defensive end. He has 69 steals on the season, which is the most in the GLIAC and third most in all of NCAA Division II as of March 1st. Bello scored 20 or more points 13 times this season. He netted a career high 36 points on 15-21 shooting in the win over Grand Valley State on January 5th.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Max Weisbrod, Northern Michigan
Max Weisbrod of Northern Michigan has been named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year, averaging double figures at 12.1 PPG and leads GLIAC freshmen in assists at 5.1 APG, tying him for first across the conference landscape and runner-up in the country among first-year players. Wesibrod also holds a 46.0 3PT%, which is the fifth-best in the GLIAC and the best among first-year players. He holds a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio, shoots 80.4% from the free-throw line, and averages 4.3 rebounds/game. The freshman is also top-10 in the conference in minutes played with 932 guiding the point for the Wildcats.
COACH OF THE YEAR - Luke Reigel, Parkside
Parkside Head Coach Luke Reigel earns the GLIAC Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Rangers to a 21-7 (14-4 GLIAC) record over the course of the 2022-23 season. Reigel and his staff helped lead the Rangers to the outright GLIAC regular season title, after being picked eighth in the GLIAC preseason poll. The Rangers went an impressive 14-2 at home during the regular season and had winning streaks of five or longer twice this season. Reigel’s Rangers were also the top defensive team in the GLIAC this season, holding opponents to just 66.7 points per game.
The First, Second and Defensive All-GLIAC Teams for the 2022-23 men's basketball season are as follows:
First Team All-GLIAC
Kemon Bassett, Lake Superior State
Rasheed Bello, Parkside
Max Bjorklund, Northern Michigan
Mikell Cooper, Purdue Northwest
Ben Davidson, Ferris State
Caden Ebeling, Lake Superior State
Marius Grazulis, Grand Valley State
Dylan Kuehl, Northern Michigan
Marcedus Leech Jr., Davenport
Solomon Oraegbu, Ferris State
Second Team All-GLIAC
Alou Dillon, Purdue Northwest
Ethan Erickson, Ferris State
Tre Garrett, Saginaw Valley State
Dan Gherezgher, Michigan Tech
Antonio Marshall, Wayne State
Freddie McIntosh, Saginaw Valley State
Colin O'Rourke, Parkside
Josiah Palmer, Parkside
Jamir Simpson, Parkside
Max Weisbrod, Northern Michigan
All-GLIAC Defensive Team
Rasheed Bello, Parkside
Mykel Bingham, Ferris State
Nick Brown, Parkside
Tre Garrett, Saginaw Valley State
Chinedu Kingsley Okanu, Grand Valley State
Dylan Kuehl, Northern Michigan
C.J. Robinson, Lake Superior State
Jimmy Scholler, Ferris State
Trevor Smith, Grand Valley State
Kevonne Taylor, Saginaw Valley State
