Men's Basketball selected eighth, Tica preseason All-GNAC
October 23, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
The Alaska men's basketball team, which returns three starters from last year, was selected tied for eighth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason poll in a voting by the 10 head coaches, the league office announced Tuesday.
“Based on our finish last year, I didn't expect us to be picked too high,” head coach Mick Durham said. The top teams are very good with a lot of returnees. With us having so many new guys, we're built around three veteran guys I feel are solid returnees, so we're definitely going to be a challenge to play in the GNAC.”
Back this year for the Nanooks, who went 5-23 a year ago (2-16 GNAC), are senior guard Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska), junior forward Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia) and junior center Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia).
Of the three, Tica was tabbed to the 15-player GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team. Last season, he averaged 14.6 points per game after scoring in double figures in 21 of 27 games he started to go with 67 made three-pointers. He was named GNAC Player of the Week once last season after dropping 30 points on San Francisco State (11/13/11) to give the Nanooks their first win.
“He definitely deserves being mentioned,” Durham said. “I also think our other two returners are capable also but Stef had some big games in the league last year and got people's attention. He had a big game in non-conference when he scored over 30 points. He will be more experienced coming into his second year in the GNAC.”
Brinson scored 12.6 points per contest in 28 starts a year ago and converted on 49 treys and hit 83.9-percent of his free throw attempts. Pucar also averaged double figures with 11.9 points per game and also produced 5.2 rebounds per game while draining 80.2-percent from the charity stripe.
The returning starters represent 56-percent of the team's scoring from last year and accounts for 36-percent of the rebounds. The Nanooks have 13 new faces on this year's squad, including seven transfers (1 NCAA D2, 1 NCAA D3 and 5 JC).
“I don't think the coaches put much stock into the preseason poll because it's just a preseason poll,” Durham said. “From a fan standpoint, you want to be picked pretty high to keep excitement up but they realize we're in a building process that will take a little time.”
He continued, “I'm pleased with what I've seen from our guys in the preseason. Our players will be determined to beat that prediction.”
Seattle Pacific, which reached the NCAA West Region title game last year, was predicted to win the GNAC after receiving eight first-place votes and 97 points. Defending national champion Western Washington was selected second with a pair of first-place nods and 90 points.
GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll
| Team | 2011-12 Record (GNAC finish) | Points |
| 1. Seattle Pacific (8) | 23-8 (13-5, 3rd) | 97 |
| 2. Western Washington (2) | 31-5 (16-2, 1st) | 90 |
| 3. Central Washington | 15-13 (8-10, 6th) | 79 |
| 4. Alaska Anchorage | 23-7 (15-3, 2nd) | 70 |
| 5. Montana State-Billings | 18-12 (10-8, 5th) | 49 |
| 6. Western Oregon | 18-10 (11-7, 4th) | 41 |
| 7. Northwest Nazarene | 12-14 (6-12, t-7th) | 34 |
| t-8. Alaska | 5-23 (2-16, 10th) | 31 |
| t-8. Saint Martin's | 10-17 (6-12, t-7th) | 31 |
| 10. Simon Fraser | 8-18 (3-15, 9th) | 28 |
() – first place votes
GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team
John Allen, Western Washington (G, 6-1, Sr.)
Jordan Coby, Central Washington (G, 6-1, Sr.)
David Downs, Seattle Pacific (G, 6-2, Jr.)
Kyle Fossman, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-1, Jr.)
Jonathan Hawkins, Northwest Nazarene (G, 6-3, Sr.)
Paul Jones, Western Washington (F, 6-5, Sr.)
Mark McLaughlin, Central Washington (G, 6-6, Jr.)
Kolton Nelson, Western Oregon (C, 6-8, Sr.)
Roger O'Neill, Saint Martin's (F, 6-5, Sr.)
Andy Poling, Seattle Pacific (C, 6-11, Sr.)
Patrick Simon, Seattle Pacific (F, 6-8, Jr.)
Travis Thompson, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-1, Jr.)
Stefan Tica, Alaska (F, 6-7, Jr.)
Jobi Wall, Seattle Pacific (F, 6-6, Sr.)
Richard Woodworth, Western Washington (G, 6-3, Jr.)