March 5, 2009
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Senior Erik Kangas and junior Johnathon Jones were selected to the All-Summit League first team, while sophomore Keith Benson was picked for the second team, selected by the league's 10 head coaches and selected media and announced by the league office on Thursday afternoon. It is just the second time in program history the Golden Grizzlies placed two players on the first team and three overall on the first and second team.
"It's always one of your personal goals," said Jones. "But it really doesn't matter this time of the year. You want to go out and win the tournament, and that is all we are thinking about. None of our season stats count now, we just have to do it starting on Sunday."
Kangas, a guard from DeWitt, Mich., earns first team honors for the first time in his career. He ranks third in the nation with a Summit League single-season record 119 3-pointers made and finished second in the league with an 18.9 scoring average. Kangas earned second team honors as a sophomore, but suffered an injury last season that prevented him from garnering all-league recognition.
Jones, a guard from Okemos, Mich., led the nation with 241 assists and ranked third on the team, 15th in the league, with a 13.5 scoring average. He dished out 83 asissts over Oakland's seven-game winning streak to close out the season. Jones is also a first time honoree on the first team, earning second team accolades a season ago.
Benson, a center from Farmington Hills, Mich., led the league with a school record 75 blocks, 24th best in the country. He also set a new all-time record in blocks (115) and finished second in the league in rebounding at 7.4 per game. Benson is a first time selection and ranks sixth in the NCAA with an impressive .626 field goal percentage.
The Golden Grizzlies (20-11) are the three seed in the upcoming Summit League Tournament, March 7-10, in Sioux Falls, S.D. OU will face No. 6 seed IPFW (13-16) in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. ET. The semifinals will be on Monday with the winner of OU-IPFW playing at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN Full Court. The championship game will be on Tuesday, at 8 p.m. ET, on ESPN2.
North Dakota State's Ben Woodside was named Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring at 23.0 ppg. IUPUI's Robert Glenn was named Newcomer of the Year after averaging16.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg, while NDSU head coach Saul Phillips was named Coach of the Year after guiding the Bison to their first league title at 16-2. Centenary's Chase Adams collected Defensive Player of the Year honors after a league-best 53 steals.
2008-09 MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE TEAMS
| FIRST TEAM |
| Pos. | Yr. | Hometown |
| Robert Jarvis, Oral Roberts | G | Sr. | Humble, Texas |
| Johnathon Jones, Oakland | G | Jr. | Okemos, Mich. |
| Erik Kangas, Oakland | G | Sr. | DeWitt, Mich. |
| Marcus Lewis, Oral Roberts | F | Sr. | Long Beach, Calif. |
| Brett Winkelman, North Dakota State | F | Sr. | Morris, Minn. |
| Ben Woodside, North Dakota State | G | Sr. | Albert Lea, Minn. |
SECOND TEAM |
| Davis Baker, Southern Utah | G | Jr. | Coto de Caza, Calif. |
| Keith Benson, Oakland | C | R-So. | Farmington Hills, Mich. |
| David DuBois, Western Illinois | G | Sr. | Madison, Wis. |
| Robert Glenn, IUPUI | F | Jr. | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Garrett Callahan, South Dakota State | G | Jr. | Seneca, Ill. |
HONORABLE MENTION |
| Chase Adams, Centenary | G | Jr. | Baltimore, Md. |
| Dane Brumagin, UMKC | F | Sr. | Montgomery City, Mo. |
| David Carson, IPFW | F | Sr. | Gary, Ind. |
| Mike Nelson, North Dakota State | G | Sr. | Madison, Wis. |
| Nick Stallings, Centenary | G | Sr. | New Orleans, La. |
ALL-NEWCOMER |
| Kevin Ford, Oral Roberts | F | Jr. | Portland, Ore. |
| Robert Glenn, IUPUI | F | Jr. | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Dominique Morrison, Oral Roberts | G/F | Fr. | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Gary Redus II, Centenary | G | So. | Decatur, Ala. |
| Deilvez Yearby, IPFW | F | Jr. | Detroit, Mich. |
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ben Woodside, North Dakota State
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Robert Glenn, IUPUI
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Deilvez Yearby, IPFW
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chase Adams, Centenary
COACH OF THE YEAR
Saul Phillips, North Dakota State
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