Now the rest of the conference has saluted the Wildcats with the announcement of postseason awards on Friday.

NMU carted off probably the two most prestigious of the five special awards along with getting a number of all-league team berths.

Sophomore Max Weisbrod was named the GLIAC Player of the Year one season after he was bestowed the GLIAC Freshman of the Year.

And fifth-year head coach Matt Majkrzak was named GLIAC Coach of the Year by leading a team that tied a program record for consecutive wins at midseason after losing one of its best players ever from the previous campaign, Max Bjorklund.

Northern Michigan University’s Max Weisbrod, right, gets around Michigan Tech's Dan Gherezgher to score two points on a layup during their GLIAC men’s basketball game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Jan. 27. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

In addition, Weisbrod was joined on the All-GLIAC First Team by sophomore teammate Dylan Kuehl, who also earned a spot on the All-GLIAC Defensive Team.

Two other players from other schools with ties to Marquette earned All-GLIAC Second Team status, Marquette Senior High School graduate Marius Grazulis of Grand Valley State and former NMU player Dolapo Olayinka of Ferris State.

The other special awards were won by Wayne State’s Rob Lee Jr. as GLIAC Freshman of the Year, Lake Superior State’s Kingsley Perkins as GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year and Ferris’ Ethan Erickson as GLIAC Sixth Man of the Year. The latter two are awards new this year.

Here are details on the NMU honorees:

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Northern Michigan University head coach Matt Majkrzak celebrates a 3-pointer made by Max Weisbrod during a GLIAC men’s basketball game played against Michigan Tech at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Jan. 27. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Weisbrod top of the pack

The sophomore guard’s honor makes him just the fourth Wildcat named GLIAC Player of the Year in the history of the league and the first since Cory Brathol in 2000.

The guard from DeForest, Wisconsin, led NMU to a 21-9 regular-season record and 14-4 conference mark — except for three games when he was injured late in the season when Northern lost two of them.

Weisbrod finished fifth in the conference in overall scoring with 17.1 points per game, second in assists per game with 4.4, second in 3-pointers per game with 2.8, second in total 3-pointers with 75 (out of 189) and fourth in free throws with 101 (of 125, 80.8%).

In his 15 conference games, he scored even better at a 19.1 ppg clip, including 21.8 ppg over his final 11 contests, according to a GLIAC news release on the awards.

Weisbrod scored in double figures 22 times, including the last 11 regular-season games, scoring at least 20 points 10 times, 25 points five times and 30 points twice. His career high was 35 points with seven triples in a 98-66 home win over Michigan Tech on Jan. 27.

He was cited as clutch throughout conference play, making 7 of 9 (78%) shots when the Wildcats were either leading by a single possession or trailing and attempting a comeback with less than two minutes to play.

The most notable had to be a top-of-the-key, buzzer-beating triple to beat LSSU 72-71 at home on Jan. 11.

In his two seasons and 61 games, Weisbord has scored 882 points, 14.5 ppg, with 289 assists (4.7 per game) and 41.7% on 3-pointers on 148-of-355 shooting.

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Majkrzak cited for rare title

The fifth-year head coach with an 86-54 (.613) record at NMU led his Wildcats to their first GLIAC title since the 1992-93 season, also the last time Northern was able to host the conference tournament semifinals and finals, which are today and Sunday at the Berry Events Center.

Majkrzak is also only the second Wildcats coach named GLIAC Coach of the Year, joining Dean Ellis who earned that distinction in for the ’92-’93 campaign.

The coach dealt with injuries throughout the season, such as a stretch without Weisbrod when there were multiple games with just eight players available. As he plugged in and playing different lineups, NMU tied the longest winning streak in the more than century history of the program when the Wildcats defeated Ferris State 83-80 on Feb. 1 for their 13th straight victory. It was marked first set back in 1984-85.

During the season, his teams were one of the best at taking care of the ball, ranking fifth nationally with a 1.68 assist-to-turnover ratio as their 9.2 turnovers per game is best in the GLIAC and 11th in NCAA Division II.

Over his five seasons, Majkrzak’s teams have improved each year, with a past GLIAC Tournament title, GLIAC regular-season title and NCAA Tournament victory.

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Kuehl doubles up on All-GLIAC

While Weisbrod made the All-GLIAC First Team, Kuehl accomplished that along with the All-GLIAC Defensive Team berth, his second straight year earning both after he did it as a redshirt freshman.

The Iron Ridge, Wisconsin, resident finished with 16.2 ppg, sixth in the league, and was second in the conference with 188 shots made, fourth with 172 rebounds and fifth with 29 blocked shots. He also shot 50.5% overall from the field.

Kuehl recorded four double-doubles, including a dominant 30-point, 10-rebound and six-block performance against Saginaw Valley State. He now has 11 career double-doubles.

In Wednesday’s GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Purdue Northwest, he led NMU with 27 points. In two seasons and 63 games, he has already racked up 916 points, 398 rebounds, 113 assists and 68 blocks.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.