FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will have to play Cinderella once again in the 2022-23 season as the 'Nooks were predicted to finish 10
th in the 2022-23 GNAC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll.
Alaska earned 20 points in the 2022-23 poll.
A year ago, the Nanooks made their way to the 2022 NCAA West Regional Final/Sweet 16, riding the back of an older group featuring
Koby Huerta,
Shadeed Shabazz and
Coleman Sparling while
Quin Barnard also added key minutes in the first-half of the season. With those four gone and the support members of
Jahvonta Jones and
Willie Thomas also gone, the Nanooks have turned to a new look roster for the upcoming 2022-23 season featuring 12 newcomers.
They welcome
Jaycson Bereal, Jr.,
Josh Davis,
Isaac Garcia,
Demarcus Hall-Scriven,
Paul Johnson,
Jordan Kanoe,
Ethan Martin,
Tyler Mrus,
Bryan Nguyen,
Terrell Peter,
Ketan Sidhu and
Logan Stempniak to Fairbanks for the 2022-23 season.
Abdullahi Mohamed highlights as the lone returning starter. The junior from Seattle, Wash. averaged 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.1% from the floor. Down the stretch, Mohamed played his biggest minutes. He posted 10+ points in nine of the final 11 games, including 32 points, 12-18 shooting, 10 rebounds, three steals and an assist against Northwest Nazarene in the GNAC Tournament.
Also returning for the Nanooks is forward
Nick Hopkins, forward/center
Mawich Kachjaani and shooting guard
Tybenn Sturm.
Saint Martin's was selected as the preseason favorite, taking home 81 points and three first-place votes. They narrowly beat Northwest Nazarene, who earned 78 points, two first-place votes and a second-place preseason pick. Montana State Billings took third with 69 points and three first-place votes. Western Washington received one first-place vote, finishing in fourth with 66 points. Seattle Pacific, Alaska Anchorage and Central Washington placed fifth, sixth and seventh. Western Oregon took eighth and earned one first-place vote and Simon Fraser beat out the Nanooks for ninth-place with 23 points.
Alaska opens the regular-season on Friday, Nov. 11 at Hawaii Pacific in Honolulu, Hi.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball program, follow @NanooksMBB on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.
