March 6, 2008

Bay City, Mich. - Grand Valley State garnered a good amount of GLIAC awards on Thursday, winning both the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors in the conference. Callistus Eziukwu was named the GLIAC Player of the Year and Ric Wesley earned GLIAC Coach of the Year honors for leading the No. 2 Lakers to a perfect 30-0 regular season record. GVSU also placed three players on the All-GLIAC North First Team, one on the All-GLIAC North Second Team and three on the All-GLIAC North Defensive Team.

To go along with his Player of the Year honor, Eziukwu was also named to the All-GLIAC North First Team and the All-GLIAC North Defensive Team. Eziukwu averaged 15.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.4 blocked shots and shot 62.9 percent from the floor. He tallied 13 double-doubles on the year, including a string of eight straight, scored in double figures 27 times and notched double-digit rebounds 14 times. He also ranks third in Division II history with 315 blocked shots and his 1,571 points rank fifth all-time at Grand Valley State.

Wesley guided the Lakers to school and conference history during the 2007-08 season. Wesley led GVSU to a 30-0 regular season mark, the first undefeated regular season in school history and an 18-0 GLIAC record, the first time a team has won 18 games in a GLIAC season. Wesley's 2007-08 squad currently leads the nation in scoring defense (53.3 points per game) and field goal percentage defense (36.1 percent). Wesley, who is 105-19 (.846) in his fourth year at the helm of the Laker basketball program, picked up his 100th career victory third-fastest (119 games) in D-II history and eighth-fastest in the history of college basketball. He leads all active coaches in the NCAA ranks with an .846 winning percentage. GVSU is 87-9 since the 2005-06 season overall, including a 49-5 record in GLIAC action. Wesley has led GVSU to three straight GLIAC North division titles.

Jason Jamerson and Pete Trammell join Eziukwu on the All-GLIAC North First Team. Jamerson was second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game. He also chipped in 4.3 rebounds and shot 48.3 percent from the field, as well as 44.0 percent from long range, which was the highest mark on the team. Trammell, who also made the All-GLIAC North Defensive Team, finished third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game. He also grabbed 3.4 rebounds each game while shooting at a 49.1 percent clip from the field. L.J. Kilgore earned All-GLIAC North Second Team honors, as well as All-GLIAC North Defensive Team honors. He finished the season with a team-high 96 assists and 46 steals to just 33 turnovers.