Hall of Fame
The Alaska Nanooks Department of Athletics officially announced the final inductee into the Nanook Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, which includes the entire 2002-03 Alaska Nanooks men’s basketball team and its coaching staff.
The 2002-03 Alaska Nanooks men’s basketball team brought the program to new heights, including a Top of the World Classic Championship title, a Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season title and a trip to the NCAA West Regional Tournament for the first time in program history. The Nooks were led by former head coach Al Sokaitis and former assistant coach Frank Ostanik.
In the Nanook Hall of Fame nomination form, the 2002-03 Nanooks were described as, “a team who should be recognized for their determination, unparalleled teamwork, outstanding basketball skills, can-do attitude, exceptional coaching and community support.”
After coming off of a 4-23 season in 2001-02 with only two significant returning players on the roster, the Nanooks stunned the college basketball world by becoming the first-ever NCAA Division II men’s basketball team to win an eight-team non-conference tournament, with the rest of the field comprising of Division I programs.
In the 2002 BP Top of the World Classic, hosted by the Alaska Nanooks at the Carlson Center, the Nooks routed the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (78-55) in the opening round before defeating the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (64-61) in the semifinals. In front of a sold-out Carlson Center crowd of 4,301, the Nooks defeated Weber State 77-65 in the Championship game to take home the tournament title.
Following the celebration, sophomore guard and North Pole resident Brad Oleson was named the Tournament MVP, while senior forward Jason Williams and senior guard Steve Towne received All-Tournament recognition. The following evening, the Nanooks jumped into the back of a flatbed truck and rolled through downtown Fairbanks for a victory parade in minus-20 degree temperatures.
Alaska closed-out the 2002-03 regular season going 20-8 overall and 13-5 in GNAC play to be named the conference’s co-regular season champions with Humboldt State. The GNAC didn’t sponsor a conference post-season tournament until the 2010-11 season but the Nanooks still punched a ticket to the NCAA West Regional Tournament, eventually falling to Cal State Pomona 80-76.
At the conclusion of an epic season, Williams was honored as an All-GNAC First Team selection while Oleson was selected to the All-GNAC Second Team. Furthermore, head coach Al Sokaitis was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year.
The 2002-03 Alaska Nanooks men’s basketball team included Justin Bourne, Zac Forsyth, Ryan Jones, Scott Jones, Arnold Marks, Ivan Miskovic, Brad Oleson, Marquis Revels, Jocquis Sconiers, Andrew Smith, Chris Smith, Zach Tilbury, Steve Towne and Jason Williams.
