HONOLULU, Hawaii – It's opening-weekend for the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team. Alaska heads to the 50
th-state for their season-openers against Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team has not played a game since the 2019-20 GNAC Championships in Seattle, Wash. They fell to the Western Washington Vikings as their season came to an end. Prior to that, the Nanooks battled to a 12-18, 10-10 GNAC record, qualifying for the GNAC Championships for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
All-American
The return of
Shadeed Shabazz begins on Saturday, Nov. 13, as the 2019-20 Third-Team All-American kicks off his senior season. After a year and a half away from Fairbanks, Shabazz is back in the blue and gold to prove himself, once again. During the 2019-20 season, he was named the GNAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, GNAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and GNAC Newcomer of the Year.
He averaged 26.6 points per game, the fourth most in Division II and the most in the GNAC. He also broke the GNAC record for steals and steals per game, averaging 3.83 per game and grabbing 114 total. Both led Division II in 2019-20.
Like Father, Like Son
Coleman Sparling and head coach
Greg Sparling have come full circle. After Coleman joined his dad at Central Washington for two years, he moved on to the College of Southern Idaho and the University of Texas at Arlington before committing to the Alaska Nanooks during the COVID-19 offseason. They'll regroup, one last time, for the 2021-22 season.
400+
This season will be head coach
Greg Sparling's 27
th-season as a head coach and his fourth year and third season with the Alaska Nanooks. Last season, on Feb. 6 at Western Washington, Sparling earned his 400
thcareer victory, taking the win over the Vikings, 96-85.
Crystal Ball
In the GNAC Preseason Poll, the Nanooks were selected fourth, coming in behind Seattle Pacific, the preseason favorite, Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington. In the preseason releases,
Shadeed Shabazz and
Coleman Sparling were both selected to the GNAC Preseason Team with Shabazz earning a unanimous nod.
Fresh Faces
The Nanooks are welcoming 10 new faces. Only six are returning from the 2019-20 squad;
Markel Banks,
Koby Huerta,
Mawich Kachjaani,
Marcus Lee,
Matthew Scarboro and
Shadeed Shabazz.
Joining the Nanooks is;
Quin Barnard,
Jaren Carle,
Nick Hopkins,
Markell Jackson,
Jahvonta Jones,
Abdullahi Mohamed,
Zac Olmsted,
Coleman Sparling,
Tybenn Sturm and
Willie Thomas.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, @AlaskaMensBasketball on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.
