Bulldog Duo Leads West Squad To Comeback Victory In NABC D2 All-Star Game
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Big Rapids, Mich. - A pair of Ferris State University men's basketball representatives helped lead the West All-Stars to a 127-118 victory over the East squad on Friday (March 28) evening in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) D2 All-Star Game at the Ford Center in Evansville.
The annual all-star event took place in conjunction with the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and featured both FSU senior guard Ethan Erickson (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Northern) and head coach Andy Bronkema, who guided the West team to the win.
Erickson earned the start in the game and played 21 minutes overall, scoring six points on a pair of three-point baskets while also totaling three steals and two assists in the contest.
Under Bronkema's direction, the West trailed 68-50 at halftime, but outscored the East 77-50 in the second half for the comeback victory.
The Division II All-Star Game, which featured the top senior talent across Division II, was selected and organized by the NABC. Along with Bronkema, Pace University's Matt Healing was chosen as a head coach and directed the East squad in the competition.
Erickson was only the third Bulldog player ever to be named to compete in the NABC All-Star Game, joining past standouts Justin Keenan (2011) and Drew Lehman (2015). He was the only player from the GLIAC selected to take part in the event and one of only two from the entire Midwest Region. A total of nine players were on each of the two All-Star squads.
This year also marked Bronkema's first head coaching stint in the event. He has led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament nine times in the past 11 years and the Bulldogs have also won 20 games or more under his direction in each of the past 10 full seasons of action, not including the COVID shortened 2020-21 campaign. He was named the NABC Division II National Coach of the Year in 2017-18 after leading FSU to the school's first NCAA D2 National Championship.
Located in Kansas City, Mo., the NABC was founded in 1927 by Forrest "Phog" Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches.
All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, itsprograms and membership, can be found at www.nabc.org.