Men's Basketball

MIAC announces 2022-23 men’s basketball awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its men's basketball awards for the 2022-23 season on Tuesday.
 
Saint Mary's senior guard Raheem Anthony and Macalester sophomore forward Badou Ba were voted the MIAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, while St. Olaf first-year guard Kobe Kirk received MIAC Rookie of the Year honors, and Carleton head coach Ryan Kershaw was celebrated as the MIAC Coach of the Year.
 
Anthony (Chicago, Ill. | DePaul College Prep) was named MIAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading all MIAC scorers with an average of 25.1 points per game on the season. Anthony scored at least 20 points in 16 MIAC games and went for 30-plus four times. He became just the second MIAC player since Devean George in 1998-99 to surpass 500 points in a conference season and led the league in scoring by a margin of 68 points. Anthony is the first Cardinals men's basketball player since at least 1990 to receive individual MIAC honors.
 
Ba (Dakar, Senegal | Williston Northampton) was selected MIAC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 20 conference games this season. Ba led the MIAC with 45 blocked shots and ranked fifth in the conference with 152 rebounds. He joins 2004 MIAC Player of the Year Ben Van Thorre as Macalester standouts to receive individual MIAC honors.
 
Kirk (North Oaks, Minn. | Mounds View) became the inaugural recipient of the MIAC Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year award. Kirk started 15 MIAC contests in his debut season for the Oles and averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 20 league appearances. He is the first Ole player since at least 1990 to receive individual MIAC honors.

Kershaw (First Season) was recognized by his peers with MIAC Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Knights to a 17-3 record in league play and the program's first outright conference championship in a century – all in his debut season at the helm. Overall, Kershaw's squad has won a program record 24 games on its way to earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the third time ever.

In addition to the individual awards, 17 players were named All-Conference and seven received honorable mention distinction. All awards were nominated by and voted on by the eleven MIAC head men's basketball coaches and only statistics from MIAC contests are considered for conference honors; any nominated player not selected as All-Conference but still receiving votes from at least three coaches was named honorable mention.

Six of the 17 All-Conference honorees were also selected in 2022. Carleton forward Jeremy Beckler earned his third straight All-MIAC accolade, making him the 59th player in recorded MIAC history to be named to at least three All-Conference teams.
 
The MIAC also announced the inaugural All-Playoff Team for men's basketball, which recognized the top nine performers from the conference tournament, as selected by playoff-participant head coaches.
2022-23 MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Year
Pos. Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
G Raheem Anthony Saint Mary's Sr. Chicago, Ill. | DePaul College Prep --
 
2022-23 MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year
Pos. Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
F Badou Ba Macalester So. Dakar, Senegal | Williston Northampton (Mass.) --
 
2022-23 MIAC Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year
Pos. Name Institution Class Hometown | High School
G Kobe Kirk St. Olaf Fy. North Oaks, Minn. | Mounds View
 
2022-23 MIAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year
Name Institution Previous Selections
Ryan Kershaw Carleton --
2022-23 MIAC Men's Basketball All-Conference
Pos. Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
G Raheem Anthony Saint Mary's Sr. Chicago, Ill. | DePaul College Prep 2022 (1T)
F Badou Ba Macalester So. Dakar, Senegal | Williston Northampton (Mass.) --
F Jeremy Beckler Carleton Sr. Lino Lakes, Minn. | White Bear Lake 2020 (3T) | 2022 (1T)
W Bradley Cimperman Hamline So. St. Paul, Minn. | Woodbury --
F Zach Doely Bethel Jr. Stillwater, Minn. | St. Croix Prep Academy 2022 (2T)
G Coby Gold Macalester So. Denver, Colo. | Kent --
G Luke Harris Carleton So. Piedmont, Calif. --
F Nathan Hendler St. Olaf Sr. Shakopee, Minn. | Holy Family Catholic 2022 (3T)
F Austin Holt Hamline So. Highlands Ranch, Colo. | Thunder Ridge --
G Matthew Johnson Concordia Jr. Fergus Falls, Minn. --
G Joey Kidder Bethel Jr. New Richmond, Wis. --
G Connor Martin St. Olaf Jr. Peoria, Ill. | Richwoods --
P Mitchell Plombon Saint John's Sr. St. Cloud, Minn. | Cathedral --
F Spencer Swanson Gustavus So. Waconia, Minn. --
F Ryan Thissen Saint John's Jr. Rosemount, Minn. | Eastview 2022 (2T)
G Caleb Williams Macalester Jr. Wild Rose, Wis. 2022 (2T)
G Owen Ziegler Saint Mary's Jr. Mount Horeb, Wis. --
2022-23 MIAC Men's Basketball Honorable Mention
Pos. Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
F Matt Banovetz Carleton Jr. Minneapolis, Minn. | Academy of Holy Angels --
G Nick Carlson St. Scholastica Gr. Canyon, Minn. | South Ridge --
G Alex Gibbens Carleton Jr. New Canaan, Conn. --
G Kobe Kirk St. Olaf Fy. North Oaks, Minn. | Mounds View --
G Conner Knoepfle Augsburg Sr. Andover, Minn. --
F Rowan Nelson Concordia So. Melrose, Minn. 2022 (3T)
G Kooper Vaughn Saint John's So. St. Charles, Minn. 2022 (3T)
2023 MIAC Men's Basketball All-Playoff Team
Pos. Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
F Matt Banovetz Carleton Jr. Minneapolis, Minn. | Academy of Holy Angels --
F Jeremy Beckler Carleton Sr. Lino Lakes, Minn. | White Bear Lake --
G Breyton Buysman Saint Mary's So. Inver Grove Heights, Minn. | Simley --
W Bradley Cimperman Hamline So. St. Paul, Minn. | Woodbury --
G Luke Harris Carleton So. Piedmont, Calif. --
G Kobe Kirk St. Olaf Fy. North Oaks, Minn. | Mounds View --
F Ryan Thissen Saint John's Jr. Rosemount, Minn. | Eastview --
G Kooper Vaughn Saint John's So. St. Charles, Minn. --
G Caleb Williams Macalester Jr. Wild Rose, Wis. --