St. Paul, Minn. – A total of five Gustavus men’s basketball players were honored by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in its postseason awards, which were released Thursday. Lone senior Jordan Dick (Wabasha, Minn.) and sophomore Brody Ziegler (Mankato, Minn.) were selected to the 2013-14 MIAC All-Conference Team, while juniors Martin Feddersen (Winona, Minn.) and Brian Jacobs (Lake Crystal, Minn.) were named Honorable Mention. Feddersen was also awarded a spot on the All-Defensive Team and rookie Peter Kruize (St. Peter, Minn.) was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
Jordan Dick
Augsburg’s Dan Kornbaum was awarded the Joe Hutton Player-of-the-Year after a senior season that saw him lead the league in scoring (19.1 ppg) and field goal percentage (69.7%). He also ranked second in the MIAC in rebounding with a 7.9 average. This season’s Sixth Man-of-the-Year went to Alex Schmitt of Saint John’s. Schmitt, just a sophomore, averaged 11.1 points per game, while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 93.6 percent from the free throw line.
Taking home Coach-of-the-Year honors was St. Olaf’s Dan Kosmoski following a milestone season for the Oles. Kosmoski led his team to a record of 22-5 overall and 17-3 in league play to finish second behind St. Thomas. St. Olaf went on to defeat the Tommies in the MIAC Playoff Championship and earn its first postseason title. The Oles will play Central (Iowa) in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday in Stevens Point, Wis.
In his final season wearing the Black and Gold, Jordan Dick was named to the MIAC All-Conference Team for the first time in his career. With a quick release a pure stroke, Dick led the Gusties in scoring with 314 points for an average of 11.6 per game. He also shot 52.5 percent from the floor, 45.4 percent from three, and 81.3 percent from the charity stripe. His 45.4 percent three-point rate was the league’s second-best three-point shooting percentage, while his 52.5 percent mark from the field tied for 12th.
Brody Ziegler
For his career, Dick has played in 73 games, starting 51 of them and has scored 507 points (6.9 ppg). As one of the top perimeter shooters to come through the program, Jordan is a career 49.7 percent shooter from the field, 43.5 percent from three-point range, and 81.8 percent from the free throw line. His 43.5 percent career three-point shooting rate is sixth all-time in Gustavus men’s basketball history.
Joining Dick on the All-Conference Team was Brody Ziegler. It is Ziegler’s first All-Conference selection in his two years in a Gustavus jersey. After missing five games due to injury last season, Brody started all 27 games as a sophomore, scoring 289 points (10.7 ppg) and grabbing 148 rebounds (5.5 rpg), which ranked 10th in the MIAC. Ziegler also shot 57.3 percent from the field (5th/MIAC) and blocked a team-high 32 shots (3rd/MIAC). His 32 blocks tie for ninth on the Gustavus single-season blocks list.
Along with Dick and Ziegler, Martin Feddersen was also recognized by the MIAC. Feddersen landed on both the All-Defensive and Honorable Mention Teams. The junior proved to be the glue amongst his teammates on the floor, doing a little bit of everything this season. Martin scored a total of 228 points (8.4 ppg) and scored in double-figures in four of his last six games, including a career-high 17 points in a 62-57 win over Carleton. He also shot 61.5 percent from the field (3rd/MIAC), which ranks eighth all-time in a season at Gustavus.
Brian Jacobs
To add to his efficiency on offense, Feddersen dished out 109 assists for an average of 4.0 per game (4th/MIAC), tying Dan Schmidtknecht ’11 for 10th on the single-season assist list. The Winona, Minn., native grabbed 121 rebounds (4.5 rpg) and notched two double-doubles on the year, while also recording 40 steals (5th/MIAC) to land him a spot on the All-Defensive Team.
Brian Jacobs also makes his first appearance in the MIAC postseason awards as an Honorable Mention pick. With length and athleticism, Brian proved to be a dual threat on both the offensive and defensive end. After playing a total of 158 minutes in 22 games prior to this season, Jacobs made the transition from sub to starter in his junior campaign, starting all 27 games. He scored 239 points (8.9 ppg) and shot 52.5 percent from the floor, which ranked 12th in the MIAC.
Rounding out Gustavus’s showing in the conference’s postseason awards was Peter Kruize, who was named to the All-Freshman team. A complete post that can use either hand to finish on the block, Kruize wasted little time making his impact felt. In his collegiate debut, the rookie nearly recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds in an 83-68 win over Simpson College. For the season, Kruize scored 201 points (7.7 ppg) and swiped 84 rebounds (3.2 rpg). Peter also shot 56.6 percent from the floor, which placed him sixth in the MIAC.
Martin Feddersen
Peter Kruize
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the eighth 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. This year’s representative for Gustavus was Jordan Dick.
Gustavus finished the regular season 16-9 overall and 13-7 in the MIAC. The Gusties ended the year tied for fourth in the league standings. However, due to a tiebreaker scenario, they received the fifth seed in the MIAC Playoffs. Gustavus defeated Saint John’s 65-64 in Collegeville, Minn., in the quarterfinals before ending its season with a 66-53 loss to eventual champion St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn.