FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

Official NABC Release

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 22, 2013)-- The National Association of Basketball Coaches released its NCAA Division II All-District awards on Friday with University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball coach Luke Reigel securing Midwest District Coach of the Year while Jeremy Saffold earned First Team All-Midwest District accolades.

Reigel was recognized by his peers as the Midwest District Coach of the Year after directing the Rangers to a 20-9 campaign, winning their first ever Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division title and earning a bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament for just the second time in program history and the first time since 2007. Reigel's Rangers posted a 14-4 record in the rugged GLVC, owning a 7-2 record against Top 25 teams while climbing as high as 13th in the NABC Top 25 Poll. Reigel additionally was cited as the GLVC Coach of the Year.

“This is a tremendous honor and one that I will definitely share with my staff. Their commitment to our players and this program is outstanding. Obviously this wouldn't have been possible without the sacrifice and belief our players had in our system and in each other," said Reigel.

“I think anytime you win an award that is voted on by your peers it is a little more special. I have a great deal of respect for the coaches in this region, I know how difficult of a challenge you face each and every game.  Every night you prepare to compete and you know you are going against a well-coached team, so it is very humbling to win this award.”

Saffold adds another award to his mantel, landing a spot on All-Midwest District First Team. He is one of three GLVC players to appear on the six-player All-Midwest team. The senior powered the UW-Parkside offense, averaging 18.4 points per game while collecting 5.4 rebounds per game. The Hazel Crest, Ill. native ranked second in the GLVC in scoring while sitting 46th in the nation. Saffold, one of just three Rangers in program history to amass over 1,500-points and 500-rebounds, was named the GLVC Player of the Year and was a unanimous First Team All-GLVC selection while earning Daktronics First Team All-Region honors for District 4 last week. The forward finished his stellar career with 1,573 points, good for fifth on the all-time scoring list.

“Now that we've had a little time to look back and reflect on our season I think this will be a year that people will remember for a long time.  We played at a very high level for the majority of the season.  Winning 20 games and the GLVC East division title are things our players and coaches will always be able to be proud of.  And hopefully this is a season that everyone will look at as a building block.”

The Rangers finished the season ranked 21st in the nation, bowing out in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament, suffering an 86-75 setback to Michigan Tech University in Springfield, Mo. on Mar. 16.