[2022-2023 MIAA Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week: Week 1]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its first MIAA Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week, presented by Shift Group, for the 2022-23 season.
 
MIAA Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week – Alijah Comithier – Emporia State     
Alijah Comithier led Emporia State to a 4-0 start to the season for the first time since 2013-14. The junior transfer from Cibolo, Texas had 20 points and three rebounds in the Hornets 66-64 win over Rockhurst. With ESU leading 60-59 against the Hawks, Comithier hit back-to-back layups to put the Hornets up 64-59 with 1:37 left. He then hit a free throw with 18.2 seconds left to keep it a two-possession game at 66-63. Comithier also totaled 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the Hornets 67-57 victory at William Jewell.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Kevin Kone – Lincoln
Kevin Kone scored a total 51 points and turned in two double doubles to lead Lincoln to its first 3-0 start since 2015-16. Kone, who also had a double-double in Lincoln’s exhibition win at Division I UMKC, opened the year with 16 points and 15 rebounds in the Blue Tigers 82-61 win against William Woods. After tallying 17 points and eight boards in the 78-49 victory over Harris Stowe, Kone then recorded 18 points and 15 rebounds in Lincoln’s 128-36 win over Calvary. Kone also recorded three blocks, three assists and a steal.
 
Wes Dreamer – Northwest Missouri
Wes Dreamer scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Northwest blew out long-time rival Truman State, 92-47. Dreamer returned to action after missing three games with an ankle injury. Dreamer buried 8-of-12 shots from the field, including 6-of-10 from three-point range against the Bulldogs. Dreamer scored 17 of his 23 points in the opening half as Northwest built a 45-28 lead at the break.
 
Darrian Nebeker – Nebraska Kearney
Darrian Nebeker helped Nebraska Kearney beat non-Division II foes Manhattan Christian Haskell at home while pushing NSIC preseason number two Wayne State to the brink before falling by 10. Nebeker came in at 19.0 points, 6.7 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 block per game while shooting 67 percent from the field. The super senior had 15 points and 13 assists in a 94-87 win over Haskell.
 
ALSO NOMINATED
Rashad Perkins (Northeastern State), Parker Long (Missouri Southern), Elijah Nnanabu (Fort Hays State), Jack Chapman (Central Missouri), Reese Glover (Missouri Western), Jaden Wells (Central Oklahoma)
 
ABOUT SHIFT GROUP
 is a training and recruiting platform placing talented, retired collegiate and professional athletes in high caliber Software Sales positions. Athletes spend their lives engaging in team-based activities where they are rewarded for performance-based outcomes. Competitive drive, work ethic, and the desire to win are innate qualities of those performing at elite levels. Athletes at this level must have discipline, resilience, and grit. These are the intangible parts of any elite athlete’s identity. When combined with confidence, curiosity, and coachability, these traits separate great athletes – and great salespeople. Salesmanship can be taught. It requires the right attitude, habits, and skills – learned, practiced, and repeated in the right environment in order to be mastered. Once an athlete finishes Shift Group training, they get access to hiring managers at Startups, Fortune 500’s, and other organizations building out sales teams across the globe – with the Shift Group team coaching them through every step of the process.