[2022-2023 MIAA Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its ninth 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 – Owen Long – Emporia State  
Owen Long averaged 24.5 points per game and went over the 1,000 points mark in his collegiate career as the Hornets improved to 14-3 last week. Long hit the first of his six three-pointers just 28 seconds into the game as Emporia State never trailed in a 79-63 win at Pittsburg State. He went 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc and 6-of-6 at the free throw line on his way to 24 points. He scored 16 of his game-high 25 points after halftime, including a game tying three to send the game to overtime, during the Hornets 83-79 come-from-behind win at Missouri Southern. With ESU trailing 22-7, he hit a three-pointer to ignite a 10-0 run and get the Hornets back in the game. His three-pointer with 21.4 seconds left tied the game at 71-71 and sent the teams to overtime. Long then went 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 46 seconds to preserve the win. He finished with 25 points, three rebounds and three assists against the Lions. In conference games only, he is currently leading the MIAA in scoring and made three-pointers.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Sait Witt – Lincoln
Sai Witt averaged 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds to lead Lincoln to a sweep over Rogers State and Northeastern State last week. Witt scored 21 and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Lincoln to its first-ever win over Rogers State in overtime (76-74). Witt then tailed 19 points, all in the second half, and collected 10 boards as the Blue Tigers rallied to beat Northeastern State 76-68 at home. In the win over NSU, Lincoln outscored the RiverHawks 20-7 over the final seven minutes, with Witt providing 10 of those points.
 
Diego Bernard – Northwest Missouri
Diego Bernard averaged 19.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.0 assists as Northwest split a pair of MIAA road contests. Bernard posted a team-high 16 points and five steals in a road loss to No. 7-ranked Central Oklahoma. Bernard went 4-of-11 from the floor and 8-of-10 at the line against the Bronchos. The senior guard secured his 17th career 20-point scoring game with a 23-point output against the Newman Jets. He shot 9-of-13 from the field and did not miss from the three-point line (1) and free throw line (4). Bernard also grabbed six rebounds against the Jets. Bernard started his 140th career game against Newman to set the MIAA record for most career games started by a men’s basketball player.
 
Kaleb Hammeke – Fort Hays State
Kaleb Hammeke led Fort Hays State in scoring this past week at 17 points per game, while adding 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals, and 2.5 assists per game. He led the Tigers in scoring in both contests, finishing with 16 points at Missouri Western and 18 against Nebraska-Kearney. He hit the game-winning shot with six seconds left against Nebraska-Kearney to lift FHSU to a two-point victory in Hays.
 
ALSO NOMINATED
Curtis Haywood (Central Oklahoma), Avery Taggart (Missouri Southern), Jarmell Johnson (Washburn)
 
ABOUT SHIFT GROUP
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.