March 4, 2009

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Oakland University's Erik Kangas was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District first team, announced by the NABC on Wednesday night. Kangas led the Golden Grizzlies to their finest season since moving to Div. I, winning 20 games and earning a No. 3 seed for the upcoming Summit League Tournament.

Kangas, a native of DeWitt, Mich., ranks third in the nation with a Summit League single-season record 119 3-pointers made. He also stands third in 3-pointers made per game with 4.0, tops in the Summit League. Kangas led OU with an 18.9 scoring average, second in the league, and is the all-time record holder in treys with 332, third best in league history.

A 6 foot, 3 inch shooting guard, Kangas also surpassed the 1,000-point plateau this season and currently stands 12th all-time in OU history with 1,446 points. He has drained five or more threes on 10 occasions this year and was named Summit League Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Jan. 19, 26), becoming the first player to accomplish that feat since the 2004-05 season. Kangas has scored 30 or more points in three games this season, including a career-high 39 at IPFW on Jan. 17.

Joining Kangas on the all-district first team in District 12 is North Dakota State senior guard Ben Woodside. Woodside led the league in scoring at 23.0 points per game and helped guide the Bison (23-6) to their first league title since 1981. Oral Roberts' Robert Jarvis and NDSU's Brett Winkelman were also on the all-district 12 team, earning second team honors after scoring 17.4 and 18.8 points per game, respectively.

Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, these student-athletes represent the finest basketball players across America. The 240 student-athletes, from 24 districts which were realigned this season, are now eligible for the State Farm Coaches' Division I All-America teams to be announced on Saturday, April 4, at Hoop City in the COBO Center at 10 a.m. as part of the 2009 NABC Convention in Detroit.

For a complete list of all the teams, please click here.

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