ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Rockford University men's basketball program had four individuals recognized by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference when it released its all-conference awards on Friday morning. Kevin Diemer highlighted the group with his NACC South Division Player of the Year selection. Diemer becomes the first RU men's basketball player to ever be named the NACC South Division Player of the Year. Head Coach Jeremy Reigle was voted the NACC South Division Coach of the Year. Reigle is now just the second Regent men's basketball coach (Rebsom, 2009) to receive a NACC Coach of the Year honor. Brandon Emerick earned First Team All-NACC South Division honors for the second straight season. This marks only the second time in program history that a player has received First Team All-NACC honors twice in his career (Tony Diemer). De'Marius Bonds was the final Regent recognized by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, as he was named NACC Honorable Mention. Rockford's four NACC postseason awards is tied for the most in a season in program history (2015-16).
Kevin Diemer concluded one of the most decorated season's in program history by being named NACC South Division Player of the Year and First Team All-NACC South Division. Diemer was dominant throughout the entire season. He earned a school record four straight NACC Player of the Week honors and was also named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week. He finished his season ranked in the top 30 nationally in six categories and was in the top five in the NACC in four others. Diemer is fifth in Division III in double-doubles (7), 13th in total rebounds (137), 15th in made field goals (107), 25th in total points (273), 28th in defensive rebounds per game (7.5) and 29th in free throw attempts (72). Additionally, he finished the year first in the NACC in rebounds per game (9.8), third in points per game (19.5), fourth in offensive rebounds per game (2.3) and fifth in field goal percentage (59.8%). Diemer also eclipsed a milestone this year when he became just the 17th RU men's basketball player to record 500 rebounds in a career.
Brandon Emerick earned his second consecutive First Team All-NACC selection. He was also honored during the season with a NACC South Division Player of the Week award and a D3hoops.com Team of the Week selection. Emerick finished the year ranked in the top 30 nationally in a trio of categories and was also in the top 10 in the NACC in three others. He is 16th in Division III in total steals (29), 20th in three-point field goal attempts (102) and 26th in total assists (59). Additionally, Emerick finished the season ranked third in the NACC in steals per game (2.1), fourth in assists per game (4.2) and sixth in made three-point field goals per game (2.4). Emerick also eclipsed two milestones this season when he became just the 25th player in program history to score 1,000 points and broke the RU record for steals in a career (190).
De'Marius Bonds was named NACC South Division Honorable Mention in his first season as a Regent. Bonds was a key piece to Rockford's success all year long. He finished the season third on the team in scoring (10.4 ppg), third in three-point field goal percentage (40.0%), fifth in rebounding (3.4 rpg) and sixth in assists (1.2 apg). Additionally, Bonds concluded the year ranked third in the NACC in field goal percentage (40.0%). Bonds' top performance of the season came in Rockford's 96-79 win against Aurora. He finished with a season-high 21 points on 81.8% shooting, 7 rebounds and 1 assist.
Head Coach Jeremy Reigle earned his first NACC South Division Coach of the Year award. The Regents had their most successful season in the NACC and one of their best years in recent memory in Reigle's second year at the helm of the program. Reigle led Rockford to its first ever NACC South Division regular season and tournament titles. The Regents also won multiple games in the NACC Tournament for the first time in program history and made their first ever appearance in the NACC Tournament Championship Game. The Regents' .750 NACC winning percentage was also best in program history. At the national level, Rockford is ranked in the top 30 as a team in nine different categories. The Regents are seventh in all of NCAA Division III in assists per game (18.9), 11th in total assists (265), 13th in field goal percentage (49.5%), 21st in three-point field goals made (133), 24th in free throw attempts (279), 25th in made free throws (191), 26th in three-point attempts (355), 26th in scoring offense (84.4) and 30th in total rebounds (542).
