Ecorse's Malik Olafioye named Michigan AP D3 player of year
ECORSE — Malik Olafioye left a long list of memories at Ecorse, scoring more than 2,000 points during his career and leading his team to consecutive trips to the Division 3 state semifinals at the Breslin Center.
The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 32 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals his senior year to lead his team to a 20-5 record.
Olafioye was named Associated Press Division 3 Player of the Year by a panel of sportswriters throughout the state. Olafioye has multiple Division 1 offers, including from Houston, Tennessee, Boston College, UAB and several others.
“I feel winning back-to-back districts, back-to-back regionals titles and getting to the Breslin twice is a great accomplishment,” Olafioye said.
Olafioye could score in bunches as he showed with a 52-point performance against Southfield Bradford.
“His work ethic is off the chart,” Ecorse coach Gerrod Abram said. “He has the ability to score on all three levels: 3-point shot, mid-range and finishing at and about the rim. His leadership skills are very high. His will to win and do whatever the team needs from him is what makes him special. He led the team to back-to-back district and regional championships and making school history with two straight Final Four appearances was amazing.”
Flint Beecher guard Robert Lee joined Olafioye on the first team, along with Detroit Edison guard Bryce Eaton, Plymouth Christian guard Jordan Scott, Laingsburg junior guard Zander Woodruff, Pewamo-Westphalia forward Jamison Eklund, Schoolcraft junior guard Shane Rykse, Iron Mountain sophomore forward Oskar Kangas, Saginaw Nouvel junior guard MJ Yeager and Traverse City St. Francis guard Wyatt Nausadis.
Lee averaged 29.5 points, seven rebounds and six assists and capped off his career with a double-double (29 points, 11 rebounds) in a 64-50 state championship win over Traverse City St. Francis. Eaton averaged 20 points, five assists and four rebounds and will play next year at Central Michigan while Scott averaged 27.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 36% from 3-point range.
Woodruff helped Laingsburg to an unbeaten regular season by averaging 23.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 steals while knocking down 3-pointers with regularity. Eklund averaged 22 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals while Rykse averaged 23.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists and Kangas, 20.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals while blocking 2.2 shots a game.
Yeager averaged 25.6 points while making more than 100 3s, shooting 44% from beyond the arc while Nausadis averaged 20 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3 steals, including a 20-point performance in the state championship game.
Dennis Morey was named coach of the year for guiding Detroit Loyola to the Catholic League title and a 25-2 record last season, which ended with a 55-49 state quarterfinal loss to Flint Beecher.
Compete Division 3 AP All-State list:
First Team
Zander Woodruff, Laingsburg, Jr. Jamison Eklund, Pewamo-Westphalia, Sr. Wyatt Nausadis, Traverse City St. Francis, Sr. Bryce Eaton, Detroit Edison, Sr. Kenneth Morrast, Ecorse, Sr. Malik Olafioye, Ecorse, Sr. Oskar Kangas, Iron Mountain, Soph. Robert Lee, Flint Beecher, Sr. Gaden Muxlow, Brown City, Sr. M.J. Yeager, Saginaw Nouvel, Jr. Jordan Scott, Plymouth Christian, Sr.
Coach of the Year
Dennis Morey, Detroit Loyola
Second Team
Luke Hazelton, Maple City Glen Lake, Sr. Carson Dehaan, Calvin Christian, Sr. Jonny Ingalls, St. Ignace, Jr. Shane Ryske, Schoolcraft, Jr. Ty Kohlmann, New Lothrop, Sr.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Ecorse's Malik Olafioye named Michigan AP D3 player of year
