Xavier Smith leads GNAC All-League selections

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

https://www.gnacsports.com/mbasketba...ll-conference/

In a season where there was no clear candidate for player of the year, as I was expecting and hoping, CWU's Xavier Smith is the pick! 19 ppg, 52% shooter and 40% from 3. Only one game of single digit scoring. One of the most consistent players all season long and also had the most improvement and biggest impact.

Wiggins well deserved Newcomer of Year. A little surprised with Minnis as defensive POY.

Some guys on 2nd team maybe snubbed from 1st team, like Schumacher. And Shadeed Shabazz only earning honorable mention, but his team is last place.

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

It's a CWU sweep, as Kassidy Malcolm is named the women's POY! Samantha Bowman and Kizzah Maltezo join her on 1st Team. Any of those 3 could've been the POY.

https://www.gnacsports.com/wbasketba...as-win-awards/

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

I would just like to say that Shabazz absolutely dominated and shut down Smith all game long in the championship. That was the difference maker in the game. Shabazz proved why he remains the best player in the conference and of of the best in the nation.

[tsull]

I would just like to say that Shabazz absolutely dominated and shut down Smith all game long in the championship. That was the difference maker in the game. Shabazz proved why he remains the best player in the conference and of of the best in the nation.

Crazy coach Spar is the dude who benched him. Coach is looking good now, but some of this coaching moves are bizarre. He has his kid taking zero to 6 shots per game, a guy who was good enough to play D1 and has a great shooting stroke. He doesn't even encourage him to shoot when he's on the floor. Shabazz is one of the best guards in the country; UAF is in regionals on talent and desire, I wouldn't put great coaching into the mix, IMO. When Sparling was at CWU I also saw crazy stuff. He's not an awful coach, pretty solid but he does some strange things. Benching Shabazz is an all-time coaching gaffe.

[Runnin' Cat]

Crazy coach Spar is the dude who benched him. Coach is looking good now, but some of this coaching moves are bizarre. He has his kid taking zero to 6 shots per game, a guy who was good enough to play D1 and has a great shooting stroke. He doesn't even encourage him to shoot when he's on the floor. Shabazz is one of the best guards in the country; UAF is in regionals on talent and desire, I wouldn't put great coaching into the mix, IMO. When Sparling was at CWU I also saw crazy stuff. He's not an awful coach, pretty solid but he does some strange things. Benching Shabazz is an all-time coaching gaffe.

I think benching Shabazz earlier in the season set the stage for him to become a better teammate and that is why UAF won the GNAC.

[tsull]

I think benching Shabazz earlier in the season set the stage for him to become a better teammate and that is why UAF won the GNAC.

Good point, maybe there was a method to Sparling's madness. When I saw him at NNU coming off the bench he was a great teammate, high fiving teammates, totally into it. Good point.

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

Spar didn't want him turning into another Mark Mc...."You Know Who"

[northernGNAChoopfan]

I believe the Shabazz situation that Runnin Cat spoke of is very perceptive. My take is that Shabazz got frustrated with the losing and was trying to solve the problem himself and when he and Willie were benched, UAF started winning, beating WWU, SFU, and holding MSUB to 36. When he came back, things were awkward and he was trying to pass when he had open lanes. I don't think Shabazz is a selfish player, but I do think it's complicated when you work your magic like he does in such a chaotic manner to figure out how to play within a team of others who might not thrive in chaos, but you must have that team on board, cause Shabazz can't win it by himself.

The situation with Coleman Sparling I believe is pretty simple Tsull. He's 6'7", but he seems much more comfortable facing the hoop, dribbling and passing. When he gets the ball in the post, he doesn't have as much confidence with his back to the hoop. But his struggles in being more offensive haven't cost them much. When he plays defense on Pantovic like he did and gets rebounds and stays out of foul trouble and works the point, drawing a bigger defender out of the key and opening things up for Mohamed to work down low or Koby or Shabazz to drive, he's very effective. The number of shots he takes a game doesn't predict how this team will do.

Coach Sparling is a bit crazy in what he does and I sometimes scratch my head, but Fairbanks is a place that demands a lot of creativity and willingness to do things differently. What 18 year old kid who wasn't born and raised in Alaska comes to Fairbanks to play ball? What proportion of in-state kids will pick UAF over UAA, when UAA has been consistently good for a while now and Anchorage is a more temperate city that resembles the rest of America quite a bit more than Fairbanks? What JUCO transfer picks UAF over other West region schools? Fairbanks is always gonna have quirky teams, and the ability to thrive in that and put together a team that can compete is a different skill than coaching at most other schools is.

Believe me, I'm as critical as anyone and was deeply frustrated by this team this year, but credit is due to them for figuring it out and sticking with it. I'm very curious to see if they can stay together and put together a competitive performance against a CCAA team that apparently is pretty good. I hope the GNAC bounces back next year, but I think the GNAC did the right thing in having all teams to the conference tourney this year. The league is a mess this year, but I suspect it will rebound.

[tsull]

Great post, Northern, good stuff. I wouldn't want to play UAF right now. San Marcos is excellent, but this should be a great first-round game.