Gustavus' Anderson headlines 2011-12 MIAC Men's Basketball Awards

http://miac-online.org/news/2012/2/28/MBB_0228122641.aspx

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The parity and excitement in the 2011-12 men's basketball season in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) led to a winter full of intrigue, unforgettable moments and great games. That parity was again reflected Wednesday as the conference announced the 2011-12 MIAC Men's Basketball awards, as the All-Conference selections were evenly distributed throughout the league.

Headlining the conference's season-ending awards was one of the conference's regular season co-champions, Gustavus Adolphus College, which swept the three top individual awards. Gustie guard Seth Anderson (Sr., Minnesota Lake, Minn./Maple River) was named the 2011-12 MIAC Joe Hutton Player-of-the-Year. Teammate Jim Hill (Jr., Edina, Minn.) earned MIAC Sixth Man-of-the-Year honors, while Gustavus head coach Mark Hanson was honored by his peers as the conference's Coach-of-the-Year.

Though the Gusties laid claim to the top honors, the conference's overall competitiveness was on full display on the All-Conference team, as no team has more than two players represented. Gustavus, St. Thomas, St. Olaf, Augsburg, Saint John's, Bethel and Carleton each placed two players on the team, and Hamline, Saint Mary's and Macalester each had one player honored.

Anderson's Player-of-the-Year campaign started in Gustavus' very first game of the 2011-12 season, as the senior sharpshooter poured in 45 points in a 98-96 nonconference win at Buena Vista. Anderson went on to lead the MIAC in scoring with 21.4 points per game and he had the league's eighth-best shooting percentage at .541 - an astonishing rate for a guard. In addition, Anderson had 3.7 rebounds per game, 51 assists and 25 steals while leading Gustavus to a share of the conference title and the championship game of the 2012 MIAC Men' s Basketball Playoffs.

This season, Anderson led Gustavus in scoring in 20 of the team's 27 games. He topped the 20-point plateau 14 times and he scored 30 or more six times, including a pair of 36-point efforts in conference play. In MIAC games only, Anderson averaged 21.2 points per game and even raised his shooting percentage a little to .551. The only MIAC player to average more than 20 points per game this season, Anderson was also named one of the 10 finalists for the 2012 Josten's Trophy, which recognizes the outstanding Division III Player-of-the-Year in the areas of basketball ability, academic prowess and community service.

Hill also had a big role in the Gusties' great season as the team's top reserve and third-leading scorer. The junior averaged 8.0 points (8.6 in conference play) and 3.6 rebounds per game. The MIAC's top sixth man played in all of Gustavus' 27 games, averaging 20.1 minutes off the bench, and he shot .438 from the floor in 2011-12 to help the Gusties' reach the 20-win plateau.

Hanson's 22nd season as the Gustavus head coach has been one of his finest, as his team finished the regular season with a 19-6 overall record, and its 16-4 conference record helped it earn a share of the MIAC championship. This is Hanson's eighth MIAC Coach-of-the-Year award, and this week he'll coach his team in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament for the 11th time, and the first since 2004-05, as the Gusties' received an at-large bid with a 20-7 overall record following their second-place finish in the MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs.

Last year, Hanson reached the 400-win milestone, and with his team's success this season, his career record is now 422-184. He is just one of six MIAC coaches with 400 career wins. His team's MIAC title is the seventh of his career, and Anderson is the fourth MIAC Player-of-the-Year to win the honor under Hanson's direction. Hanson is a 1983 graduate of Gustavus, and still ranks as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,774 career points.

Anderson headlines the All-Conference team, and is one of four players to earn the honor for the second-straight season. Fellow seniors Bobby Fong and Stu Neville of St. Olaf and Hamline guard Mike Campbell also claimed their second-straight All-MIAC selection. The conference also released five-player All-Defensive and All-First-Year Teams. The defensive unit is highlighted by the third-straight selection for Augsburg's Brett Sorenson. The league also recognized an All-Conference Honorable Mention squad.

As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the sixth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for men's basketball. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.

2011-12 MIAC Men's Basketball Awards

Joe Hutton Player-of-the-Year - Seth Anderson, Gustavus (Sr., Minnesota Lake, Minn./Maple River)
Sixth Man-of-the-Year - Jim Hill, Gustavus (Jr., Edina, Minn.)
Coach-of-the-Year - Mark Hanson (22nd season)

2011-12 MIAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Team

2011-12 MIAC Men's Basketball All-Defensive Team

2011-12 MIAC Men's Basketball All-First-Year Team

2011-12 MIAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Honorable Mention

2011-12 Men's Basketball All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team
Augsburg - Cory Polta (Sr., Spring Lake Park, Minn.)
Bethel - Eric Hildebrandt (Sr., Faribault, Minn.)
Carleton - Michael Grinnell (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview)
Concordia - Jonathon Molina (Sr., Dilworth, Minn./Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton)
Gustavus - Ryan Nett (Sr., Spring Valley, Ill./Hall)
Hamline - Brandon Rieg (Sr., Riverside, Calif./Arlington)
Macalester - Patrick Piepkorn (Sr., Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice)
Saint John's - Chris Neumann (Jr., Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity)
Saint Mary's - Joe Murray (Jr., Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South)
St. Olaf - Mark Wieloch (Sr., Rosemount, Minn.)
St. Thomas - Drew Matthews (Jr., Faribault, Minn./Bethlehem Academy)