BRIEF SEASON RECAP: The Seawolf men went 19-9 overall in 2006-07, qualifying for the NCAA Div. II Tournament for the second straight year and the 13th time in school history. UAA earned its best record (10-6) and finish (t-3rd) in the six years of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, posting season sweeps of Central Washington, Western Washington and UAF. As usual, the Seawolves gained respect in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout with a win over Div. I Missouri-Kansas City, and the December schedule included a home win over 19th-ranked BYU-Hawaii. Junior point guard Luke Cooper rewrote the UAA record book for assists to earn 1st-team All-GNAC honors, while junior forward Carl Arts made 2nd-team All-GNAC.
UAA SEASON-ENDING STARTERS (2006-07 stats)
PG?Luke Cooper, 6-0, Jr (7.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 8.2 apg, 1.5 spg, .447 FG, .379 3FG, .735 FT)
SG?Eric Draper, 6-2, Sr (14.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 spg, .488 FG, .443 3FG, .904 FT)
SF?Trenton Millar, 6-5, Fr (5.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.6 apg, .438 FG, .436 3FG, .730 FT)
PF?Carl Arts, 6-6, Jr (15.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, .546 FG, .466 3FG, .887 FT)
C?Ivan Platenik, 6-7, So (8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.1 apg, .549 FG, .682 FT [90-132])
NCAA HISTORY: This year marked the 13th NCAA Tournament berth in UAA men's basketball history. After a narrow loss to top-seeded Humboldt State, the Seawolves now have an all-time record of 8-13 in the ?Big Dance' ... UAA's furthest advancement was a trip to the 1988 national finals where they lost 75-72 to UMass-Lowell in Springfield, Mass. ... the Seawolves are 0-6 in first-round games since beating Chico State 72-70 in 1993 in Bakersfield, Calif. ... 13 of UAA's 21 NCAA matchups have come against California schools.
2007 NCAA Div. II West Region Tournament
Arcata, Calif. ? East Gym (1,400)
First Round ? Fri. Mar. 9
(6) Seattle 69, (3) Cal Poly Pomona 55
(2) Cal State-San Bernardino 71, (7) BYU-Hawaii 68
(5) Grand Canyon 87, (4) Seattle Pacific 65
(1) Humboldt State 68, (8) Alaska Anchorage 61
Semifinals ? Sat., Mar. 10
Cal State San Bernardino 72, Seattle 66
Humboldt State 95, Grand Canyon 81
Finals ? Mon. Mar. 12
Cal State San Bernardino 68, Humboldt State 66
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves ranked among the top six teams in NCAA Div. II in four categories ? assists per game (19.1, 4th), FT% (.773, 4th), 3FG% (.424, 5th) and FG% (.512, 6th). UAA was the only team in Div. II to rank in the top 10 in all three shooting percentage categories ... UAA led the GNAC in six of the 18 major statistical categories: scoring defense (65.6 ppg allowed), scoring margin (+12.3), FG% defense (.424), 3FG%, 3FG% defense (.329), and assist-turnover ratio (1.45) ... the Seawolves ? who went 19-12 in 2005-06 ? posted 19 wins in two consecutive seasons for the first time since going 19-9 in 1995-96 and 20-8 in 1996-97 ... UAA earned its best record (10-6) and highest placing (t-3rd) in the 6-year existence of the GNAC ... UAA went 16-1 this year when shooting 50-plus percent and 10-1 when scoring 80 points or more ... the Seawolves broke the school season record for scoring defense, while its four road losses tied the record for the fewest ever by a Seawolf team ... the team also established single-game marks for fewest points allowed in a game (30, ties record) and in a half (11) against Lancaster Bible on Nov. 5.
Senior Recaps
ERIC DRAPER SG 6-2/170 14.1 ppg 3.5 rpg 1.1 apg
Earned All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference honorable mention honors after ranking 2nd on team and 12th in league in scoring ... held GNAC ranks of No. 2 in 3FGs per game (2.8) and No. 3 in 3FG% (.443) ... ranked 20th nationally in 3FG% and 56th in 3FG/pg ... broke UAA school record for season FT% at .904 ... made 35 straight FTs from Nov. 24-Feb. 17 to break school and GNAC records ... missed only two FTs in GNAC play (.941) ... ranked 3rd on team in rebounding from shooting guard position ... 3rd on team and 15th in GNAC with 1.1 steals per game ... topped 20-point mark eight times and sank four of more 3FGs on 12 occasions ... AT&T Alascom Jamboree All-Tournament Team ... AT&T Alascom Player of the Game in win over Hawaii-Hilo (24 pts, 5-11 3FG, 5-5 FT, 4 reb) ... made 9 of 10 3FGs in back-to-back road wins over Western Oregon and Western Washington ... top games included: 19 pts (6-16 FG, 5-12 3FG), 8 rebs, 3 stls in win over Div. I Missouri-Kansas City; 23 pts (7-11 FG, 5-8 3FG, 4-4 FT), 3 rebs in win over Augustana; 18 pts (7-11 FG, 4-7 3FG), 3 assts, 2 stls in win over Saint Martin's; 22 pts (7-16 FG, 6-14 3FG) in loss to eventual GNAC co-champ Seattle; 21 pts (7-8 FG, 5-6 3FG, 2-2 FT), 8 rebs, 3 assts, 2 stls in win at Western Oregon ... finished 2-year career No. 2 in FT% (.884) and No. 7 in 3FG% (.431) on UAA all-time lists ... also finished 10th in career 3FGs made (138) and attempted (320) ... helped Seawolves rank No. 4 as a team in NCAA Div. II 3FG% (.424) ... received Bob Zundel Rebounders Trophy, bestowed on player who best displays qualities of sportsmanship and leadership toward teammates, coaches, referees, opponents, media and fans.
BUDDY BAILEY G 6-3/190 6.5 ppg 1.5 rpg 1.7 apg
Seawolves' 7th-leading scorer (6.5 ppg) and 3rd-leading assist man (1.7 apg) in lone season in green & gold ... set school record for season FT% at .918 (45-49) ... ranked 2nd on team with 34 three-pointers made and a was 12th in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a .395 3FG% ... one of five Seawolves to see action in all 28 games ... top performances included 21 points (5-11 FG, 10-11 FT) and 4 assists in loss at 25th-ranked Seattle Pacific; 16 pts (5-6 FG, 4-5 3FG, 2-2 FT), 5 rebounds in Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout loss to Div. I Hofstra; 12 pts (4-7 3FG), 7 assists, 1 turnover in win over Hawaii-Hilo; 12 pts (4-4 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT) in win at Western Washington; and 9 pts (3-4 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT) in 13 minutes of narrow NCAA Tournament loss at nationally 4th-ranked Humboldt State ... received Coaches' Award.
More Player Notes
LUKE COOPER: Earned All-GNAC First Team honors after finishing No. 2 in NCAA Div. II with 8.2 assists per game ... won GNAC assist title for third straight season, breaking five conference records in that category ... finished junior season just 30 assists short of career GNAC record of 600 ... set or tied six UAA assist records, including most in a career (570), season (230), and game (16, tie); other school marks were for season average, and most double-digit assist totals in a season (10) and career (17) ... led team and held GNAC ranks of first in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.07-1), 6th in steals (1.5 spg), and 2nd in minutes (35.9 mpg) ... minutes per game were 2nd-most in school history ... played entire 40 minutes on 10 occasions, including 7 of the last 9 games ... doubled scoring output from 4.7 ppg in non-conference games to 9.5 in GNAC affairs ... registered three double-doubles ? all in UAA wins ... tied school record with 16 assists and committed just one turnover in Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout victory over UMKC ... MVP of Glacier Classic (Dec. 8-9) and GNAC Player of the Week after leading UAA to wins over Florida Tech (10 asst) and Augustana (17 pts, 6 asst, 3 stl) ... also named all-tourney at UAA's AT&T Alascom Jamboree ... twice scored 21 points, in wins over Saint Martin's (7-13 FG, 5-9 3FG, 5 reb, 8 asst, 1 turnover, 40 min) and at Central Washington (7-10 FG, 3-6 3FG, 4-4 FT, 6 asst) ... other top games included 12 pts (4-5 FG, 2-3 3FG), 10 asst, 0 turnovers, 2 steals in win at Northwest Nazarene; 11 pts (9-12 FT), 12 assists in win at Western Washington; 10 pts (4-8 FG), 12 asst, 2 turnovers in home win over CWU; and 10 pts (3-3 FG, 4-4 FT), 6 asst and 1 turnover in win at UAF to clinch playoff berth ... finished junior year with UAA career ranks of first in assists and assists per game, 7th in steals (116), 16th in FG% (.490), 16th in games played (86), and 8th in games started (62) ... received Most Inspirational Player and Jim Hajdukovich Ironman team awards ... nominated for UAA Athlete of the Year.
CARL ARTS: Voted All-GNAC Second Team by league's coaches and Team MVP by his teammates ... led Seawolves in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg), blocks (0.64 bpg), 3FG% (.466), and double-doubles (4) ... season FT% of .887 ranked 7th in NCAA Div. II and 4th-best in school history, while FG% of .546 was 72nd nationally ... held GNAC ranks of 5th in rebounding, 8th in scoring and 16th in assists (2.3 apg) ... averaged 23.2 ppg in last five games, including career-high 29 points (9-13 FG, 3-3 3FG, 8-9 FT) in loss at No. 25 Seattle Pacific ... scored double figures in 23 of 28 games, including 10 times with 20 or more ... earned spot on Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team with 3-game average of 15.3 ppg and 8.7 rpg against Div. I competition, including 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in loss to Hofstra ... named Most Outstanding Player of UAA's AT&T Alascom Jamboree, averaging 16.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 5.0 apg in wins over Hawaii-Hilo and No. 19 BYU-Hawaii ... made all-tournament team at Glacier Classic after helping UAA to wins over Florida Tech and Augustana ... scored 21 points (9-11 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-3 3FG) in first half of UAA's NCAA Tournament loss at 4th-ranked Humboldt State before leaving midway through with a hip pointer ... other top performances included 25 points (9-18 FG, 3-6 3FG, 4-4 FT, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in regular-season-ending, playoff-clinching win at rival UAF; 25 points (8-17 FG, 9-9 FT), 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in home finale victory over Western Washington; 22 points (8-15 FG, 5-5 FT) and 11 rebounds in home win over UAF; and 27 points (10-15 FT, 6-7 FT), 10 rebounds and 3 steals in 60-57 home win over Northwest Nazarene ... finished junior season high on UAA career lists for rebounds (9th, 483), points (22nd, 898), 3FG% (2nd, .470), FT% (4th, .860), FG% (9th, .534), and rebounding average (20th, 5.6).
MORE PLAYER NOTES: Jr. F McCade Olsen led the GNAC in FG% at .598, the 6th-best pct. in school history ... the JC transfer also rated 19th in the GNAC in scoring (11.1) and 20th in rebounding (4.3 rpg). ... Olsen was Carrs/Safeway Player of the Game for 19-point (9-11 FG) performance in Shootout win over UMKC ... along with Olsen and Arts, So. C Ivan Platenik gave UAA three of the top eight FG% shooters in the GNAC, ranking 7th at .549 ... the Aussie led UAA in FTs made (90), and he attempted the 5th-most FTs (132) in the GNAC ... Platenik received UAA's Best Defensive Player Award, unofficially leading the squad with 2.1 charges take per game ... Fr. G Trenton Millar broke UAA's freshman 3FG% record at .436 (24-55), breaking the old mark of .400 by Jim Hajdukovich (1994-95). Millar ranked 5th on the frosh lists for FG% (.438), 3FG made (24), and games started (16) ... So. F Cameron Burney was the team's Most Improved Player honoree, playing more than half his season minutes in the final seven games, averaging 6.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg in that span ... Burney led UAA in rebounds per minute played, averaging one every 4 minutes.
INJURY REPORT: Jr. F McCade Olsen missed the first four games with a separated shoulder and one game midseason with concussion-like symptoms ... Jr. G Larry Pikes played in four games before being sidelined with a knee ailment. He left the program at semester to return home to Chicago and continued his rehabilitation.
RADIO: UAA's entire 2006-07 season was heard live in Anchorage on AM-550 KTZN ?The Zone' over the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network, with veteran play-by-play man Kelly Thompson mike-side.
TV: The 2006-07 season was the first for Anchorage's KCFT Ch. 35 (Cable Ch. 19) to broadcast all Seawolf home games from the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. The games were showed on a tape-delayed basis.
TOP 25 RANKINGS: The Seawolves earned their first national ranking since Feb. 1998 when they cracked the National Association of Basketball Coaches Div. II Top 25 at No. 25 on Jan. 16. Here an abbreviated look at the final rankings, which were not updated following the NCAA Tournament (full poll at d2basketball.com):
NABC Division II Men's Basketball Top 25 ? Feb. 27, 2007
(UAA opponents in bold; West Region teams in italics)
Rk Team (first-place votes) Record Pts
1. Winona [Minn.] State (8) 27-0 200
2. Bentley [Mass.] 27-0 192
3. Findlay [Ohio] 25-1 181
4. Humboldt [Calif.] State 22-3 174
5. Metro [Colo.] State 24-3 164
12. Cal State-San Bernardino 20-5 109
18. Cal Poly Pomona 19-6 67
Others Receiving Votes: 26. Seattle Pacific 13.
PERFECT PROGNOSTICATION: UAA finished exactly where it was picked in in the annual GNAC preseason coaches' poll from Oct. 28:
Rk School (1st-place votes) 2005-06 Pts Actual
1. Central Wash. (6) 15-13 (10-8) 82 t-3rd
2. Seattle Pacific (2) 26- 6 (14-4) 74 t-1st
3. Alaska Anchorage (1) 19-12 (10-8) 62 t-3rd
4. Seattle 16-11 (9-9) 47 t-1st
5. Western Wash. 23- 6 (13-5) 42 t-7th
6. Saint Martin's 7-20 (2-16) 35 6th
7. Alaska Fairbanks 17-10 (10-8) 29 5th
8. Northwest Nazarene 12-15 (7-11) 26 t-7th
9. Western Oregon 9-18 (4-14) 17 t-7th
(Note: First-place votes in parenthesis / Points awarded on a 11-9-8-7-6-5-4--3-2-1 basis)
SEAWOLVES IN THE SHOOTOUT: The Seawolves, the only Division II team and the only school to appear in every Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout, now sport a 28-59 (.322) all-time mark in the tournament, including 6-9 in the last five years ... the Seawolves have won at least one game in 24 of the 29 Shootouts, including a string of 13 straight from 1985-97 and a current streak of five ... UAA's best finish has been fourth place, accomplished four times (1986, 1987, 1991, 2003) ... UAA has pulled first-round upsets four times (Maine 1996, Wake Forest 1993, Texas Tech 1990, and Pacific 1979) ... here is a list of the other teams UAA has beaten at the Shootout: Auburn (1989), Canisius (2003), Dayton (1992), Grambling State (1999), High Point (2004), Idaho (1991), Iona (1988), Jackson State (1994), Miami, Fla. (1987), Missouri (1985), Missouri-Kansas City (2006), Montana (2002), New Mexico (1983), Nicholls State (1980), Notre Dame (1998), Penn State (1978), Rhode Island (2000), Santa Clara (1991), Southern Illinois (2005), Texas State (1987, 2003), Texas (1986), TCU (1995) and Washington (1986).
SHOOTOUT ON ESPN: For the 22nd consecutive year, the ESPN family of networks broadcast games from Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout to a worldwide audience. This year's schedule included five contests ? four on ESPN2 and one on ESPNU. UAA's ESPN2 appearance against Loyola Marymount was the program's 16th all-time on the ESPN family.
LOOK OUT, GOLIATH: Division II UAA owns a 46-123 all-time record against Division I opponents ... the Seawolves' biggest upset came during the 1988-89 campaign when they beat then-No. 2 and undefeated Michigan, 70-66, at the Utah Seiko Classic. The Wolverines went on to win the NCAA title that year ... UAA's win over UMKC in the 2006 Shootout made it 21 of the last 22 seasons that it has beaten at least one Division I school.
