UAA's Wiggs tabbed Newcomer of the Year, 1st Team All-GNAC
McGill, Hammell earn 2nd Team awards; Svejcar honorable mention
PORTLAND, Ore. (Mar. 1) – Junior guard Sekou ‘Suki’ Wiggs led a foursome of Alaska Anchorage players on the 2015-16 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball postseason awards list Tuesday, tabbed as the league’s Newcomer of the Year and a unanimous First Team All-Conference pick.
Wiggs was joined by Second Team All-GNAC selections Brian McGill and Corey Hammell, while Spencer Svejcar was named to the honorable mention squad.
A transfer from the University of Idaho, Wiggs leads the GNAC and ranks ninth nationally in scoring with 24.2 points per game, along with other league ranks of third in rebounding (7.2 rpg), ninth in assists (3.3 apg), third in steals (1.5 spg), first in defensive rebounding (6.2 drpg) and first in minutes (34.9 mpg). He started the season with a UAA- and GNAC-record streak of 21 straight 20-plus scoring efforts – the longest streak in NCAA Div. II in the least four seasons.
After finishing the regular season with 65 points in two games last week, the Seattle (O’Dea HS) native has risen to No. 2 on UAA’s single-season scoring list with 750 points, while crushing the previous school record for free throws with 234 makes so far. Wiggs has scored at least 30 points on six occasions and owns seven double-doubles, while also leading the Seawolves with 21 blocks.
Wiggs – who broke Glenn Robinson’s 23-year-old GCI Great Alaska Shootout scoring record with a 98-point explosion against three D-I opponents in November – becomes just the second Seawolf in the 15-year history of the GNAC to earn the Newcomer of the Year award, joining Kemmy Burgess (2003-04).
McGill, a 6-2 senior guard, earned his second career second-team honor in voting by the league’s 11 head coaches, along with his 2013-14 sophomore season. The Clackamas, Ore., product is the GNAC’s fifth-leading scorer with 17.9 points per game, while pacing the league with a UAA-record pace .931 free throw percentage.
Along with averages of 4.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.9 rebounds, McGill has scored double figures in 17 of 18 appearances this year, with the Seawolves going 4-0 when he accounts for 25 points or more. He set a school record with 16-of-16 free throw accuracy in UAA’s Jan. 16 overtime win at Alaska Fairbanks, and he recorded a streak of 40 straight charities from Jan. 30 to Feb. 11.
Hammell, a 6-6 forward, is on pace to become the first Seawolf in over a decade to average a double-double, currently at 12.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. The junior transfer from Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College ranks 12th in Div. II with 14 double-doubles – including four ’15/15’ performances – along with 13th in rebounding and second in offensive rebounding (4.2).
A starter in all 31 games, Hammell has joined Wiggs to produce the two most productive free-throw campaigns in program history. Entering the GNAC Tournament this week, he is shooting 183 of 220 (.832) from the line, making at least four free throws in 29 of 31 contests. The Cardinal Newman High School product also had an impressive charity streak of 26 in a row in December.
Another JC transfer, Svejcar came on strong at the end of the season to pick up an honorable mention all-league award. The 6-3 guard from Arvada, Colo. (Ralston Valley HS/Laramie County [Wyo.] CC) has put up 12.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 28 games, scoring double figures on 19 occasions.
One of the league’s best perimeter defenders also sports solid shooting numbers of .371 from long range and .831 at the free-throw line, helping the Seawolves rank No. 2 in NCAA Div. II with a .803 team percentage.
UAA (21-10, 14-6) returns to play Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the GNAC Tournament in Lacey, Wash., facing Western Washington in the 3-vs.-6 matchup. Live video and stats are available for that game and all ensuing GNAC Tournament contests at portal.stretchinternet.com/gnac.
2015-16 GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Player of the Year: Andy Avgi, Western Oregon
Coach of the Year: Jim Shaw, Western Oregon
Defensive Player of the Year: Joseph Stroud, Central Washington
Freshman of the Year: Preston Beverly, Montana State Billings
Newcomer of the Year: Sekou "Suki" Wiggs, Alaska Anchorage
FIRST TEAM
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous School)
*+$! Andy Avgi Western Oregon F 6-6 Sr. Woodburn, Ore. (Woodburn)
*Sekou “Suki” Wiggs Alaska Anchorage G 6-4 Jr. Seattle, Wash. (Univ. of Idaho)
*Travante Williams Alaska Fairbanks F 6-4 Sr. Anchorage, Alaska (Adams State)
*@ Mitch Penner Seattle Pacific F 6-5 Sr. Seattle, Wash. (Kennedy)
*# Joseph Stroud Central Washington C 6-8 Sr. Seattle, Wash. (Highline CC)
# Jeffrey Parker Western Washington F 6-6 Jr. Richmond, Calif. (Salesian)
SECOND TEAM
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous School)
@% Brian McGill Alaska Anchorage G 6-2 Sr. Clackamas, Ore. (Western Oregon)
+ Julian Nichols Western Oregon G 6-2 Sr. Upland, Calif. (Chaffey CC)
Kyle Impero Western Washington G 6-4 Sr. Everson, Wash. (Whatcom CC)
Corey Hammell Alaska Anchorage F 6-6 Jr. Santa Rosa, Calif. (Santa Rosa JC)
Gilles Dierickx Seattle Pacific C 7-0 Sr. Ghent, Belgium (Univ. of Washington)
Tanner Omlid Western Oregon F 6-4 So. Monmouth, Ore. (Army)
HONORABLE MENTION
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous School)
Spencer Svejcar Alaska Anchorage G 6-4 Jr. Arvada, Colo. (Laramie County CC)
@ Almic Hadzishevoic Alaska Fairbanks C 6-8 Sr. Belgrade, Serbia (Ohlone Coll.)
Gary Jacobs Central Washington G 6-2 Sr. Las Vegas, Nev. (Pierce CC)
Drew Martin Concordia F 6-8 Jr. Beaverton, Ore. (N.M. Highlands)
Latrell Wilson Concordia G 6-3 Jr. Arcata, Calif. (Cabrillo JC)
Preston Beverly Montana St. Billings F 6-7 Fr. Wildomar, Calif. (Elsinore)
Marc Matthews Montana St. Billings G 6-2 Jr. Sierra Vista, Ariz. (Buena)
Bouna N’Diaye Northwest Nazarene G 6-6 Jr. Bergen, Norway (Barry Univ.)
Fred Jorg Saint Martin’s C 7-0 Jr. Korschenbroich, Germany (EWU)
Bryce Leavitt Seattle Pacific G 6-4 Sr. Kennewick, Wash. (North Idaho JC)
Michael Harper Simon Fraser G/F 6-4 Sr. Melbourne, Australia (Univ. of Hawaii)
@ Jordan Wiley Western Oregon G 6-6 Sr. McKenzie, Ore. (McKenzie)
# Ricardo Maxwell Western Washington G 6-0 Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio (Edmonds CC)
* - Unanimous Selection
+ - First Team Selection In 2014-15
# - Second Team Selection In 2014-15
@ - Honorable Mention In 2014-15
% - Second Team Selection In 2013-14
$ - Honorable Mention In 2013-14
! – Honorable Mention in 2012-13
--GOSEAWOLVES--
Nate Sagan
Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com
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