Three Jackrabbits earn All-League accolades

SIOUX FALLS (GoJacks.com) – Douglas Wilson, Matt Dentlinger and Noah Freidel were recognized as All-Summit League performers for the 2019-20 season, announced Thursday by the league office.

Wilson earned Summit League Player and Newcomer of the Year honors with first team recognition, Freidel was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year as an honorable mention all-league pick and Dentlinger was named to the All-Summit League Second Team.

Head coach Eric Henderson earned Summit League Coach of the Year honors in his first season at the helm, while Wilson and Freidel were also named to the league’s All-Newcomer squad.

Wilson leads the Jackrabbits with 18.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while pacing the Summit League in field goal makes (223). The Des Moines, Iowa native has tallied double figures in 27 of 29 appearances on the year and scored 20 or more in 12 contests. He shot 64.1 percent from the field in league play (second in the Summit League behind Dentlinger) and twice dropped 31 points on a league opponent. The two-time NJCAA All-American and 2018-19 NJCAA Player of the Year shot above 60 percent in all but three league contests and was twice named the league’s Player of the Week this season.

Wilson is the third Jackrabbit to earn Player of the Year (Nate Wolters – 2013, Mike Daum – 2017-19) and Newcomer of the Year (Deondre Parks – 2015, Mike Daum – 2016) honors.

Dentlinger shot a league-best 69.7 percent against Summit League teams while averaging 12.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for the year. From Arcadia, Iowa, Dentlinger has scored 10 or more in 18 games, and 20-plus against three league opponents. The 6-8 big man is third on the team with 58 assists, dishing three or more per game out of the paint on 12 occasions. Dentlinger earned Player of the Week honors once this season.

Noah Freidel burst onto the scene in his first collegiate basketball season, averaging 11.4 points per game with a team-best 59 3-pointers. Freidel posted 11 double-figure scoring performances in league play with six 20-plus efforts and buried three or more 3-pointers in eight contests this year. The Tea native averaged 15.3 points in league action and proved himself as an effective closer, posting double-digit second-half scoring tallies in wins against Oral Roberts (16 and 13), Denver (16), North Dakota (17) and South Dakota (21).

Freidel is the third Freshman of the Year to wear the yellow and blue, joining Mike Daum (2016) and David Jenkins (2017).

Henderson’s Jackrabbits claimed a share of the program’s third-consecutive Summit League regular season title, blowing past expectations after being picked fifth in the league’s preseason poll. SDSU’s 13 Summit League wins are tied for third-most in program history, and the Jackrabbits went 16-0 at home, posting their sixth undefeated record at Frost Arena over the last 10 years.

South Dakota State now has 29 all-league team selections since joining the Summit League in 2007-08.

SDSU opens The Summit League Championship Saturday as the No. 2 seed. The Jackrabbits take on No. 7 seed Purdue Fort Wayne at 8:30 p.m. inside the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls.

Player of the Year
Douglas Wilson, South Dakota State

Defensive Player of the Year
Matt Pile, Omaha

Sixth Man of the Year
Marlon Ruffin, Omaha

Newcomer of the Year
Douglas Wilson, South Dakota State

Freshman of the Year
Noah Freidel, South Dakota State

Coach of the Year
Eric Henderson, South Dakota State

First Team All-League
Tyler Hagedorn, South Dakota
Emmanuel Nzekwesi, Oral Roberts
Vinnie Shahid, North Dakota State
Marlon Stewart, North Dakota
Tyson Ward, North Dakota State
Douglas Wilson, South Dakota State

Second Team All-League
Deondre Burns, Oral Roberts
Matt Dentlinger, South Dakota State
Ade Murkey, Denver
Stanley Umude, South Dakota
Kobe Webster, Western Illinois

Honorable Mention All-League
Noah Freidel, South Dakota State
Jarred Godfrey, Purdue Fort Wayne
Matt Pile, Omaha
Filip Rebraca, North Dakota
K.J. Robinson, Omaha

All-Newcomer Team
Max Abmas, Oral Roberts
Deonte Billups, Purdue Fort Wayne
Deondre Burns, Oral Roberts
Noah Freidel, South Dakota State
Douglas Wilson, South Dakota State

(PHOTO: SDSU Sports Information)