Northmen grab four All-BNC boys hoops honors in talented league
PETOSKEY — While the Big North Conference has always been stocked from top to bottom with basketball talent, there’s no denying the league’s star power at the top this season.
From Traverse City Central and Petoskey to Cadillac and Gaylord, boys basketball teams featured players that needed some extra attention and game planning from opponents.
Even better, many will be around for at least another year.
The coaches of the Big North Conference recently highlighted that talent within the league with its All-BNC boys basketball squads and Player of the Year selection.
Of the 10 first or second team selections, seven were underclassmen during the 2022-23 season.
Petoskey came away with four total honorees, including one each between the first and second teams.
Northmen senior Cade Trudeau led the group with a breakout senior campaign and earned first team recognition from the league.
A 6-foot-6 forward that can also run the fastbreak and knock down threes, Trudeau closed the year averaging 19 points a game, to go with 10 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Traverse City Central junior Anthony Ribel was named the league’s Player of the Year after averaging 25.7 points a game in league contests and just over 24 points a night for the season.
He knocked down 31 3-pointers in BNC games and led the Trojans to a co-championship with Cadillac.
The Vikings placed two on the first team within the league in senior Jaden Montague and junior Charlie Howell.
Howell averaged 15 points a game and 8.0 rebounds, while Montague contributed 13.8 points a game.
The final first team member was Gaylord’s Luke Gelow, a junior who enjoyed another rise within the ranks of the BNC’s best.
Gelow finished the season averaging 21.2 points a game and was second in the BNC with just under 19 points a game and 185 league season points.
On the league’s second team was Petoskey’s Shane Izzard, a two-year starter as a junior who averaged 11.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the year.
Izzard was also often given the toughest defensive assignment by the Northmen, as his defense also shined.
Second team selections also included Cadillac senior Teegan Baker, TC West juniors Ben Habers and Quentin Gillespie and TC Central sophomore Jack Hogan.
Habers and Gillespie each proved to be capable scores during their junior season with the Titans, as Habers averaged 12 points a game and Gillespie, 13 points.
Petoskey placed two more within the honorable mention ranks in junior Jimmy Marshall and senior Michael Squires.
Marshall was a consistent piece throughout the season for Petoskey, averaging 11.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game. Squires then contributed 5.4 points a night and solid defense throughout the court. He came on late in the season in big games.
The honorable mention list also included: Colt Gray, Alpena; Landen Miller, TC Central; Tucker Bright, Alpena; Lincoln Lockhart, TC West; Gavin Goetz, Cadillac; Brayden Halliday, TC Central; Luke Enders, Gaylord; Eli Main, Cadillac; Miles Smith, TC Central; JJ Dutmers, TC Central; Ian Robertson, TC West; and Brady Pretzlaff, Gaylord.
Final Big North standings (league/overall): Cadillac: 8-2, 22-5; TC Central: 8-2, 15-11; Petoskey: 6-4, 18-7; TC West: 5-5, 10-14; Gaylord: 3-7, 13-10; Alpena: 0-10, 3-20.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Northmen grab four All-BNC boys hoops honors in talented league
