FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team officially opens the 2015-16 season this weekend as they host the 2015 GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover at Alaska Airlines Court. The Nanooks and Alaska Anchorage will represent the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while the Pacific West Conference will be represented by Chaminade and Hawai'i Pacific.
This year's GNAC/PacWest Crossover will be the first of a four-year agreement between the four NCAA West Regional teams. The location will flip back and forth between Alaska and Hawai'i, as the 2015 and 2017 editions will be played in the Last Frontier State, while the 2016 and 2018 editions of the GNAC/PacWest Crossover will take place in the Aloha State.
| Dates | Nov. 13 & 14, 2015 |
| Tournament | GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover |
| Location | Fairbanks, Alaska | Alaska Airlines Court |
| Teams | Alaska | Alaska Anchorage | Chaminade | Hawai'i Pacific |
| Streaming | Click Here |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook |
The Schedule
Friday: Alaska Anchorage vs. Chaminade, 3 p.m.; Alaska vs. Hawai'i Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Alaska Anchorage vs. Hawai'i Pacific 5:15 p.m.; Alaska vs. Chaminade, 7:30 p.m.
Lacing Them Up For Real
Friday will mark the official start of the 2015-16 men's basketball season. Alaska played three exhibition contests to prepare them for the start of the season. The Nanooks took on NCAA Division I teams Nevada and BYU in back-to-back nights last weekend and followed the preseason up with NAIA opponent Lincoln Christian this past Monday. Alaska went 1-2 in the preseason with the lone win coming against LCU.
Regional Season Starts Early
The GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover provides an opportunity for all four teams to play two NCAA West Regional games that will play a factor in postseason tournament selections. Head coach Mick Durham is excited to play meaningful games to open the year and believes the preseason has his team prepared for the task at hand.
"We were able to play three exhibition contests this season, so I think we are ready to play real games," stated the head man. "We will see if we are ready to play real games this weekend. We saw a lot of different styles in our exhibition games. One thing is that we have not played a close game yet, and that's going to be coming. It's going to be important to see how we will react to late game situations."
Preseason All-GNAC Selections
Alaska will be led by a trio of Preseason All-GNAC selections this season in Ashton Edwards, Almir Hadzisehovic and Joe Slocum. Edwards is the top returning scorer for the Nanooks this season, as he bring back his 14.2 points per game average, which led him to an All-GNAC honorable mention selection. Hadzisehovic, a fellow All-GNAC honorable mention selection, returns his team-leading 5.2 caroms per game average from a year ago, while Slocum returns after redshirting last year. In his last season with the Nanooks (2013-14), the San Francisco native ranked second in the GNAC in steals per game at an even two and was fifth in the league in assists with a 4.1 assists per game average, while chipping in 10.4 points per contest.
Preseason GNAC Poll
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball program was selected sixth in the 2015-16 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. The Nanooks, who are coming off a 7-19 season, earned 63 points to place sixth in the now 11-team GNAC. The placing in this year's Preseason Poll bumps Alaska up two spots from their eighth-place finish in last year's GNAC standings, as they complied a 4-14 mark in 18 league games.
"Sixth is about where I thought we would be," said Durham. "Coming off of probation last season, our staff thought we would be in the middle of the pack. We have a lot of newness to our league this year with four new head coaches and a new team in Concordia, so it's going to be really interesting to see how things play out."
Western Washington was selected as the GNAC preseason favorite for the second-straight year, as they are coming off a 20-11 season. Defending GNAC regular season champion Western Oregon is slated right behind the Vikings, while the defending GNAC Tournament Champion, Seattle Pacific, is pitted third. Alaska Anchorage and Central Washington are picked fourth and fifth respectively, while Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings are tied for seventh. Northwest Nazarene, Concordia and Simon Fraser rounded out the poll.
Fresh Faces
The 2015-16 Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team features a balance of newcomers and returners, as the team will have eight players coming back from last year's roster and six new players.
Among the top newcomers will be senior transfer Travante Williams and junior college transfer Bangaly Kaba. Williams comes into the program with just one year of eligibility remaining, as the Anchorage native transfer in from NCAA Division II Adams State, where he averaged 8.2 points per game in a sixth-man role.
Coaches Corner
"We are playing some good Division II teams this weekend and they are important games with it being regional games. We are trying not to focus on the end results too much right now. We are more focused on getting the right combinations out on the court and seeing who plays well together. We are still learning a lot about ourselves and we will know a lot more about who we are at the end of the weekend." – Head Coach Mick Durham on this weekend.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
