The Summit League has been dominated by the Dakotas in the past decade. South Dakota State or North Dakota State have at least shared a title in seven of the ten years. Those two programs have also represented the league in nine NCAA Tournaments. Both programs have had some fantastic players come through, rewriting the record books not just in the conference, but in Division I.
Summit League 2010s All-Decade Team
Starters
Guard – Taylor Braun, North Dakota State
Taylor Braun is arguably the best Bison player from the decade. He was a two-time member of the league’s first-team and had a stellar senior year. Braun captured the player of the year and the conference tournament’s most outstanding player in 2014. He was also named as an honorable mention to the AP All-American team.
For his career, Braun averaged 14.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He also shot 41.4 percent from behind the arc. In league history, he is fifth in career defensive rebounds as well as in the top ten in points produced and win shares. Braun helped North Dakota State win one title and make one NCAA Tournament, including a first-round win over Oklahoma.
Guard – Nate Wolters, South Dakota State
Nate Wolters is one of two Jackrabbits on this team that took the nation by storm during their playing career. Wolters made the first-team all three years that he played in the decade. In his senior season, he won the player of the year and was a third-team member of the AP All-American team. Wolters set the school’s single-game scoring record with a 53 point performance against Fort Wayne. He left the Jackrabbits as their career leader in points and assists.
He averaged 18.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game for his career. Wolters is one of four players in NCAA history to finish with at least 2,000 points, 600 rebounds, and 600 assists. He is first all-time in Summit League history in assist percentage. He also sits in the top five of ten other categories. In NCAA history, he sits in the top ten in points produced and offensive win shares. He helped South Dakota State win one regular-season title and play in two NCAA Tournaments.
Guard – John Konchar, Purdue Fort Wayne
John Konchar may not get the recognition he deserves outside of league annals because he played his four seasons during the Mike Daum era. However, he was great in his own right. Konchar made the first-team during all four years of his playing career and was twice named to the mid-major All-American team. He recorded the first triple-double in Summit League Tournament history and left as Purdue Fort Wayne’s all-time leading scorer.
For his career, Konchar averaged 15.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and two steals per game. He also shot 41.6 percent from the three-point line. Konchar is the league’s career leader in offensive rebounds and offensive rating. He also sits in the top five of 16 other categories, including assists and steals. His career offensive rating is also the best in NCAA history. Konchar won one title with the Mastodons and took them to one NIT and two CITs.
Forward – Dominique Morrison, Oral Roberts
Dominique Morrison played two seasons in the decade for Oral Roberts. He made the first-team both seasons and culminated his career by taking home the player of the year honor in 2012. He also made the AP All-American team as an honorable mention that season. Morrison left in fifth place on the school’s career scoring list.
He averaged 19.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in his two seasons in the decade. Morrison is fourth in conference history in offensive rating and fifth in offensive win shares. He also sits in the top ten in made free throws, win shares, points produced, and free-throw percentage. He won one title with the Golden Eagles and played in one NIT and one CIT during the decade.
Forward – Mike Daum, South Dakota State
Daum dominated the Summit League during his playing career and goes down as one of the best players in conference and college basketball history. He put the league on notice by winning freshman and sixth man of the year in 2016. After that, he won player of the year an astonishing three times. Daum was also the conference tournament’s most outstanding player three times. He won about every award imaginable, including being an honorable mention on the AP All-American team twice. He displaced Nate Wolters as the school’s career leader in points, and also leads in rebounds, made field goals, made threes, made free throws, and double-doubles.
Daum averaged 22.4 points and nine rebounds per game for his career. He sits as the Summit League’s career leader in nine categories, including points and rebounds. In NCAA history, Daum is second in career points produced and third in offensive win shares, player efficiency rating, and defensive rebounds. He was a big part of the Jackrabbits capturing three conference titles and playing in three NCAA Tournaments.
Bench
Guard – Reggie Hamilton, Oakland
Reggie Hamilton played two seasons at Oakland after transferring from Kansas City. He made the first-team in both years. Hamilton led the NCAA in scoring as a senior in 2011-12, with an average of 26.2 points per game. He was the first player in school and league history to win the nation’s scoring title. During that season, he had 17 games of 30 or more points.
During his time at Oakland, Hamilton averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. His career scoring average is the best in league history, and he also has the third-best player efficiency rating. Hamilton also sits in the top ten in six other categories. In his two seasons at Oakland, he helped the Golden Grizzlies win one title and play in one NCAA Tournament.
Guard – Matt Mooney, South Dakota
Before Matt Mooney was playing a key role for Texas Tech’s national runner-up team in 2019, he was a two-year star for South Dakota. He had transferred to the Coyotes from Air Force, and subsequently won the league’s transfer of the year award in 2017. Mooney made the Summit League’s first-team in both seasons with the team and was a mid-major All-American in 2018.
He averaged 18.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game in his two-year stint with South Dakota. He was a defensive playmaker, leading the league in defensive win shares in both seasons. Mooney also finished fourth in league history in career steal percentage and eighth in career defensive rating. He helped the program win one title and play in one NIT and one CBI.
Forward – Lawrence Alexander, North Dakota State
Lawrence Alexander started and ended his career with winning awards. He was the league’s newcomer of the year in 2012 and the player of the year as a senior in 2015. For the 2014-15 season, he led the Summit League in scoring and made threes.
For his career, Alexander averaged 13.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. He is fifth in league history in career points produced. Alexander also sits in the top 20 in career defensive rebounds, offensive rating, defensive win shares, and total win shares. He won two titles while with the Bison and made two NCAA Tournaments, including one tournament victory.
Forward – Marshall Bjorklund, North Dakota State
Marshall Bjorklund is the third Bison player to make the team, also coming from the beginning of the decade. He played alongside Taylor Braun, creating a vicious inside-out duo. Bjorklund made the first-team twice and led the Summit League in field-goal percentage during all four of his seasons. His career shooting percentage of 65.3 percent is the best in league history and seventh-best in NCAA history.
Bjorklund averaged 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for his career. He is also the conference’s career leader in two-point field-goal percentage and effective field goal percentage. Furthermore, he sits in the top five in offensive rebounds and true shooting percentage. Bjorklund was part of one title team and one NCAA Tournament team that included a first-round win.
Center – Keith Benson, Oakland
Keith Benson played just one season in the decade, but it was a great one. Benson took home almost every major award in the league for the 2010-11 season. He was the player and defensive player of the year as well as the conference tournament’s most outstanding player. He capped it off by being named an honorable mention to the AP’s All-American team. Benson was the second player in Summit League history to have at least 1,500 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
He averaged 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game during the 2010-11 season. He led the league that season in ten statistical categories, including rebounds and blocks. Benson is the league’s career leader in blocks. His senior season may not have even been his best, as he was the player of the year and mid-major player of the year in the last season of the prior decade. Still, Benson helped Oakland capture the regular-season title and play in the NCAA Tournament in 2011.
Main Photo
