Defending North Division champs picked to finish third in 2009-10

BAY CITY -- Lake Superior State, which won the 2008-09 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division title in men's basketball, received four first-place votes and was picked to finish third in the North in 2009-10 by GLIAC sports information directors and media.

GLIAC coaches chose University of Findlay senior guard Marcus Parker as the league's preseason "Player of the Year." The 24-member group of media voters tabbed Grand Valley State University and the University of Findlay to win the league's North and South Division titles, respectively. 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.

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 Ringler of Grand Valley State.

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). Perkins and senior guard Garrett Konuszewski are returning starters in 2009-10.

Parker, 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.