CHICAGO, Ill. – After one of the best turnaround seasons in the history of North Park Athletics, D3Hoops.com selected Sean Smith as the Region 8 Coach of the Year and Kolden Vanlandingham (So./G) as a First Team All-Region pick on Tuesday morning.
Coach Smith led the Vikings to 24 wins (most since the 1986-87 season), 13 CCIW wins (most since 1990-91 season), the first CCIW Tournament win and Tournament championship win for NPU, the first NCAA playoff appearance since 1990, and concluded the 2022-23 season in the Sweet Sixteen, the first appearance since 1987. His Vikings also made 223 three-pointers (4th best in NPU history) and established new records in ORB (406), DRB (697), steals (376), steals/game (12.5), blocks (90), and turnover margin (+7.63).
Vanlandingham was a unanimous First-Team All-CCIW selection in his first season with North Park, making an immediate impact as the Vikings' go-to scorer. The sophomore guard from Richmond, Indiana averaged 15.9 PPG, totaling 477 on the year. He had nine games scoring 20+ points, including 24 against WashU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, Vanlandingham had 47 steals, 45 assists, 140 rebounds, and shot 37.7% from deep (61-for-162).
