The Reaching the Summit Voters have cast their ballots and it’s time to share their votes. There will not be any real narrative on the selections today. I will post my picks on each category with reasoning tomorrow. Since this is a consensus of the voters the narrative will be brief and instead just discuss our selections. Our voters were selected by their overall knowledge of the Summit League and represent fans from all Summit League teams so while you may disagree with the results we are proud that the results below represent a depth of Summit League knowledge seen nowhere else.
Reaching the Summit Player of the Year
G/F Baylor Scheierman South Dakota State
It’s probably not a huge surprise that Scheierman is our player of the year. Scheierman was the Summit League’s most well-rounded offensive and defensive player this year. I said there would not be a ton of analysis tonight so I will leave you with this. Scheierman was 4th in the Summit League in scoring and led the league in assists and rebounds. Scheierman was also tied for second in the league in steals.
Also received 1st place votes: Guard Max Abmas Oral Roberts
Reaching the Summit 1st Team All Summit
(Ranked in order of total voting points)
Guard Max Abmas Oral Roberts
Guard Evan Gilyard Kansas City
Forward Rocky Kreuser North Dakota State
Guard Trenton Massner Western Illinois
Forward Douglas Wilson South Dakota State
Reaching the Summit 2nd Team All-Summit
Guard Sam Griesel North Dakota State
Guard KJ Hunt Denver
Guard Mason Archambault South Dakota
Guard Kruz Perrot-Hunt South Dakota
Guard Paul Bruns North Dakota
Reaching the Summit 3rd Team All Summit
Forward Luka Barisic Western Illinois
Guard Anders Nelson St. Thomas
Guard/Forward Marvin Nesbitt Kansas City
Forward Arkel Lamar Kansas City
Forward Parker Bjorklund St. Thomas
Reaching the Summit Defensive Player of the Year
Guard/Forward Marvin Nesbitt Kansas City
Nesbitt is a pure energy player for the Roos, and played a huge role in Kansas City making a run to the top half of the league in their second year returning to the Summit League. Some of Nesbitt’s defensive numbers are playing in the aggressive Kansas City System but no one can deny Nesbitt’s defensive skill. Just a quick glance at the numbers shows how dangerous Nesbitt can be on defense. Nesbitt ended the year tied for 2nd in the league in steals and 4th in blocks.
Others receiving 1st place votes: Guard Mason Archambault South Dakota, Forward Douglas Wilson South Dakota State, Guard Trenton Massner Western Illinois
Reaching the Summit All-Defense Team
Guard Mason Archambault South Dakota
Guard Tyree Eady North Dakota State
Guard Trenton Massner Western Illinois
Forward Douglas Wilson South Dakota State
Guard Charlie Easley South Dakota State
Reaching the Summit Newcomer of the Year
Guard Evan Gilyard Kansas City
Look no further than Gilyard if you are looking for a reason why Kansas City made their big run in the second half of the season. Gilyard can flat out fill up a box score. Gilyard posted 5 30 plus games, most of which were the second half of the season. Gilyard may be an example of how transferring to the right situation can put you in the right situation. Gilyard was second in the league in scoring at 16.9 points per game after averaging 9.2 at New Mexico State last season.
Reaching the Summit All-Transfer Team
Guard Trenton Massner Western Illinois
Guard KJ Hunt Denver
Forward Luka Barisic Western Illinois
Guard Issac McBride Oral Roberts
Guard Jordan Johnson Denver
Reaching the Summit Freshman of the Year
Guard/Forward Paul Bruns North Dakota
Bruns was probably not the most talked-about freshmen coming into the Summit League this year. He may not have started as the most talked-about freshmen but he ended the year as the most talked about. In a season filled with injury and frustration for North Dakota, Bruns continued to produce at a high level. Bruns led all Summit League Freshmen in scoring and rebounding and was 10th in scoring and 13th in rebounding in the league. A great building block for the Fighting Hawks future.
Reaching the Summit All-Freshmen Team
Guard Zeke Mayo South Dakota State
Guard Coban Porter Denver
Guard Tevin Smith Denver
Forward Frankie Fidler Omaha
Forward Touko Tainamo Denver
Reaching the Summit 6th Man of the Year
Guard Issac McBride Oral Roberts
There were many many close votes as our awards were decided. However, there was none closer than for the 6th man of the year as we ended up with a tie. Had to bring in a special voter to break the tie. Ultimately it was McBride over Forward Luke Appel of South Dakota State. Both McBride and Appel came on real strong but again it was McBride in the end. McBride had a fantastic Summit League Season and frankly started looking like a Summit League future star by the end of the year. The definition of instant offense along with fantastic perimeter defense. Look for the Sophomore to find himself on many more Summit League end of the year teams in future years.
Also received 1st place votes: Forward Luke Appel South Dakota State, Forward Grant Nelson North Dakota State, Forward Brooks Allen St Thomas
South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson tracks the action during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, Ala
South Dakota St Alabama Basketball, Tuscaloosa, United States – 12 Nov 2021
Reaching the Summit Coach of the Year
Eric Henderson South Dakota State
The first-ever perfect Summit League season would seem to make Henderson a shoe-in for coach of the year. While Henderson did come out on top he was far from a runaway victor with our voters. Henderson received serious competition for Billy Donlon of Kansas City and Dave Richman of North Dakota State and Jeff Wulbrun of Denver also factored in. Ultimately coaching a team that did something never done before won out and Henderson is the Reaching the Summit Coach of the Year.