Three Onondaga CC men's basketball players to compete in Region III All-Star Game

Gethers, Riker, Hanks selected to Mid-State Conference squad.

SYRACUSE, NY. -- April 3, 2006 -- Onondaga Community College men’s basketball players Kenny Gethers (Syracuse Bishop Grimes), Jeff Riker (Dryden), and Adrian Hanks (Liverpool) have been selected to compete in the NJCAA Region III Senior All-Star Game. The game will pit the top senior players, including the Onondaga trio, from Mid-State Athletic Conference against the top seniors from the Mountain Valley Conference, and will take place on Thursday, April 13, at 7:00 pm, at Herkimer County Community College.

Gethers, a 6’3” forward, ended the season as Onondaga’s leading scorer and rebounder. He played in all 29 games and averaged 18.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 steals per game. He led the Lazers in scoring 11 times and in rebounding 22 times. He topped the 20 point mark 14 times and was in double figures in 26 of 29 games. He also led Onondaga in field goal percentage, as he connected on 62.9% of his shots for the season. Gethers was named to the Region III All-Region Third Team and to the All-Mid-State Athletic Conference Team. He was also named Region III Male Athlete of the Week once and Conference Player of the Week once.

Riker, a 6’4” guard, averaged 10.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.9 steals in 29 games. He led the Lazers in scoring 3 times, including a career best 27 points in the home finale against Corning. Riker reached double figures 15 times, including all of the last 9 contests, and he topped the 20 point mark on 4 occasions. Riker was named Honorable Mention All-Conference, and was named the Region III Male Athlete of the Week once.

Hanks, a 5’11” guard, averaged 17.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals in 28 contests. He scored 480 points on the season, and combined with the 607 points that he scored at Cazenovia College in 2003-04, has now accumulated 1,087 points as a college player. Hanks led the Lazers in scoring 12 times, including a team season best 34 points in the win over Finger Lakes. He topped the 30 point mark one other time, topped 20 points 11 times, and reached double figures in 24 contests. Hanks led Onondaga with 47 3-point goals, and shot 52.9% from the floor and 75.3% from the foul line.

Riker will continue his education and basketball career at SUNY Potsdam next year, while Gethers and Hanks are still undecided on their transfer options.