GVSU and Findlay Men’s Basketball Teams Tabbed by Media to Win 2009-10 GLIAC Divisional Titles, Coaches Name Findlay’s Parker GLIAC Preseason Player of The Year

Click here for printer-friendly (PDF) version of release

BAY CITY, Mich. -- The head men's basketball coaches of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) chose University of Findlay senior guard Marcus Parker as the league's preseason "Player of the Year."

Selected members of the media and the GLIAC's Sports Information Directors were asked to choose the Conference's Basketball Preseason Polls. The 30-member group tabbed Grand Valley State University and the University of Findlay to win the league's North and South Division titles, respectively.

Player of the Year
Marcus Parker UF Sr. G

North Division
Name School Yr. Pos.
Darien Gay FSU Jr. G
Justin Keenan FSU Jr. F
Scott Perkins LSSU Sr. G
Justin Ringler GVSU Jr. G/F
Avery Stephenson SVSU Sr. G

South Division
Name School Yr. Pos.
Chris Johnson NU Sr. G
Luke Laser HC Sr. F
Jerry Oden WSU Jr. F
Marcus Parker UF Sr. G
Kale Richardson AU Jr. F

Grand Valley State, which received 17 of the 24 possible first place votes, returns four starters and seven letterwinners from a team that went 21-10 in 2008-09 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. Sixth-year head coach Ric Wesley (131-30 career record) fields a team that features no seniors, five juniors, and 10 sophomores and freshmen. A pair of juniors are the team’s two leading returning scorers as Justin Ringler and Toreau Brown lead the Lakers into the 2009-10 season. Ringler, a 6-4 guard/forward, averaged 12.2 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds per contest in 2008-09, while Brown, a 6-5 forward, totaled 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Findlay finished last season with a 36-0 record, claiming the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championship in the process. The Oilers lost five key players off of their team from last year but will return experienced veterans along with a number of talented newcomers. Findlay has claimed seven GLIAC South Division titles in the past eight years and has captured four GLIAC Tournament titles in the past six years. Head coach Ron Niekamp, who has a 550-174 record during his 24 previous years with Findlay, will undoubtedly have his team ready for another run during the 2009-10 campaign.

Joining Parker on the preseason All-GLIAC South Division Team are: senior guard Chris Johnson of Northwood University; senior forward Luke Laser of Hillsdale College; senior forward Jerry Oden of Wayne State University; and junior forward Kale Richardson of Ashland University.

The 2009-10 preseason All-GLIAC North Division Team includes: junior guard Darien Gay and junior forward Justin Keenan of Ferris State University; senior guard Scott Perkins of Lake Superior State University; senior guard Avery Stephenson of Saginaw Valley State University; and junior guard/forward Justin Ringler of Grand Valley State.

Senior Marcus Parker (Canton, Ohio/McKinley), a 5-9 point guard, was a first team All-GLIAC selection last year for the Oilers. During his junior campaign, Parker averaged 10.7 points, 4.1 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest. The former GLIAC “Freshman of the Year” has scored 1,023 points during his career, ranking 38th all-time at Findlay.

Northwood senior guard Chris Johnson (Bellville, Mich./Henry Ford C.C.) made an immediate impact in his first season, leading the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game.  He scored in double figures in 20 of 28 games, including eight of the final nine games.  He finished the season with a total of four double-doubles. Johnson shot 45.6 percent from the floor, 71.2 percent from the foul line and 37.7 percent from beyond the arc.  Johnson scored a career-high 31 points in an overtime victory over Hillsdale a year ago.  He is the second player at Northwood to earn Preseason All-GLIAC honors (Mark Barnes).

Senior forward Luke Laser (Hillsdale, Mich.) is one of two returning starters from last year’s men’s basketball team. Laser enters his senior season with the Chargers as a multi-talented small forward. He is the leading scorer among the team’s returning players, and scored in double figures in 10 games last season.

Wayne State junior Jerry Oden (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) played in the final 19 games, starting the last 18. He scored in double figures nine times and averaged 10.3 points per contest. He scored a career-high 21 points (10-16 FG, 1-1 FT) in the Jan. 15 win at Saginaw Valley. Oden finished second on the squad in rebounding average (5.7), offensive rebounds (46) and blocked shots (16), while compiling two double-doubles. His first career double-double was 21 points (tied career-high) and 11 rebounds (career high) against Tiffin then added 15 points and 10 rebounds in a career-high 39 minutes in overtime win at Ashland.

Ashland junior Kale Richardson (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll) was a first team All-GLIAC selection last season, and two years ago was named the GLIAC “Freshman of the Year.” In 2008-2009, he was third in the conference in scoring (17.7 ppg.) and three-point field goal percentage (.486), fourth in blocked shots (29/1.1 bpg.) and fifth in rebounding (7.0 rpg.). For several weeks last season, Richardson led the country in three-point field goal percentage.

Ferris State junior forward Justin Keenan (Grand Rapids, Mich./Ottawa Hills), a 2009-10 Division II Preseason All-American, led the GLIAC in scoring (20.2 ppg.) while ranking second in offensive rebounds (3.4 rpg.), fourth in rebounding (7.3 rpg.) and fourth in field goal percentage (.546) during the 2008-09 season. He also made and attempted more free throws (180-237) than any other player in the league last season. Keenan reached double-figure scoring in 24 of his 25 games and totaled 20 points or more in 14 outings a year ago, including a career-high 33 points versus Olivet (Nov. 25), en route to earning team MVP honors for the second-straight year. Keenan was honored last season as a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II All-Midwest District Second Team pick along with a Daktronics All-Midwest Region Second Team and All-GLIAC North Division First Team selection. His 20.2 points per game scoring average last campaign represented the fifth-best figure by a sophomore player in school history. Twice last season Keenan claimed GLIAC North Division Player of the Week accolades and he currently needs only 15 more points to become only the 26th player in Ferris history to score more than 1,000 career points.

Junior guard Darien Gay (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford), a 2008-09 All-GLIAC North Division Second Team selection, also received the team’s “Most Improved Player Award” for Ferris State last season. The 5-10 Gay was the team’s third-leading scorer (11.1 ppg.) and had 17 double-figure scoring performances in 28 games. Gay’s 47 percent (54-115) shooting effort behind the three-point stripe ranked as the seventh-best seasonal mark in FSU history. He ranked second in the league in assists (4.4 apg.) and steals (1.8 spg.) along with fourth in three-point percentage (.470) among the GLIAC leaders last campaign. The two-year starter placed first in the conference in assist to turnover ratio (2:1) during the 2008-09 season.

Senior guard Scott Perkins (Perrysburg, Ohio), a two-time Wooden Award nominee for LSSU, averaged 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds to rank fourth on the team in scoring and third in rebounding for the 22-9 Lakers last season. He made 43-of-103 three-point field-goal attempts, which was third on the team and part of the Lakers’ three-point attack that ranked first nationally in 2008-09. He was ranked ninth in the GLIAC in average assists per game (3.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.5), and 12th in three-point field-goal percentage (.417).

Junior guard/forward Justin Ringler (Reed City, Mich.) is the Lakers’ leading returning scorer and rebounder, as his 12.2 points per game were second on the team in 2008-09 and his 5.8 rebounds per contest were the top figure for GVSU. Ringler ranked 10th in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (.498), 13th in rebounds, and 16th in points. He ranked second on the team in assists (76) and steals (37), while shooting .711 from the free throw line.

Senior guard Avery Stephenson (Romulus, Mich.) started in all 26 games for the Cardinals in the 2008-09 season and averaged 16.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. He led Saginaw Valley State in field goals (149), three point percentage (.434), rebounds (166), rebound average (6.4) and defensive rebounds (125) for the season. He also led the Cardinals in 11 different games in rebounds as well as ten times in scoring last season.

The 2010 GLIAC Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinals will be held on Tuesday, Mar. 2 on campus sites with the semifinals and final being held on Friday, Mar. 5 and Saturday, Mar. 6 at the site of the highest remaining seed.