Friday, October 7, 2016
PORTLAND, Ore. – The GNAC Men’s Basketball Newcomer of the Year and Alaska Anchorage have earned preseason selections from both Division II Bulletin and The Sporting News.
Seawolves’ senior guard Sekou “Suki” Wiggs was named by The Sporting News as a First Team Division II Preseason All-American and was a honorable mention for Division II Bulletin’s Super 16 preseason All-American team.
His team, meanwhile, enters the season ranked No. 3 in The Sporting News Preseason Top-10 and is No. 21 in Division II Bulletin’s Preseason Top-25.
Wiggs, who transferred to UAA last year after two years at the Univ. of Idaho, was a unanimous First Team All-GNAC selection and was named a D2CCA Third Team All-American. He was also named to the list of 25 finalists for the inaugural Bevo Harris Award, honoring the top non-Division I basketball player in the nation. Wiggs led the GNAC and finished 11th in Division II with 24.1 points per game and also ranked third in the GNAC in both rebounding (7.3 per game) and steals (1.6 per game).
Wiggs finished the season by scoring at least 20 points in 21 straight games and finished the season with nine straight 20-plus point games. He scored a season-high 34 points against Cal Baptist on Oct. 31 and had a double-double of 33 points and 10 rebounds in a double-overtime win over Western Washington on Feb. 4.
Alaska Anchorage finished the 2015-16 season with a 21-11 overall record and tied for third in GNAC with a 14-6 record. The Seawolves advanced to the quarterfinals of the GNAC Championships before falling to Western Washington 78-73.
2016-17 Sporting News NCAA Division II Preseason Top 10
1. West Liberty (W.Va.)
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.)
3. Alaska Anchorage
4. Arkansas-Fort Smith
5. Angelo State (Texas)
6. Queens (N.C.)
7. Colorado School of Mines
8. Saginaw Valley State (Mich.)
9. West Texas A&M
10. St. Cloud State (Minn.)
Sporting News NCAA Div. II Preseason All-America Team
First Team
David Chavlovich – West Texas A&M
Justin Pitts – NW Missouri State
Justin Reyes – St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.)
David Schmitt – Delta State (Miss.)
Suki Wiggs - Alaska Anchorage
Second Team
Gage Davis – St. Cloud State (Minn.)
Michael Mallory – Southern Connecticut
John Moon – Oklahoma Christian
Michael Smith – California Baptist
C.J. Wilson – Young Harris (Ga.)