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Area grads transition to next level

College kudos

ESCANABA — The basketball season is well underway and area players are finding success at the college level.

One player who’s made the transition to the Division I level at Western Michigan University is North Central freshman Jason Whitens.

Whitens, who was named Class D AP Player of the Year in Michigan his senior year, has played in six games this season and is averaging 2.2 points per game. He had a season-high six points along with a rebound and an assist against Siena Heights.

“It’s definitely a learning experience for Jason from starting 109 games (in high school) to being one of the last guys on the bench,” said North Central boys’ basketball coach Adam Mercier. “That’s probably the biggest adjustment he had to make. But he’s taking his stride, he’s being a good teammate and he’s understanding the bigger picture of things.”

Whitens’ teammate at North Central, Dawson Bilski, is currently averaging 1.9 points 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 14 games during his freshman year at Michigan Tech.

His best game came against Tiffin College Saturday when he had six points, a rebound and an assist.

Bilski broke his nose the first week of practice and had to wear a mask for the first part of the season.

“He’s just starting to find his shot now which will help his game immensely if he can hit some outside shots,” said Mercier. “From watching his games, he’s playing great defense and rebounding the basketball and he’s not turning the ball over. He’s doing a lot of things to help out his team.”

Another key piece to North Central’s title runs the past three years was Marcus Krachinski, who’s redshirting his freshman year at Northern Michigan. Mercier said he’s hearing good things about Krachinski as he works to get ready for next season.

“He’s working really hard and he looks really strong and athletic,” said Mercier. “He’s helping out his team by watching film and practicing hard. He’s getting better everyday.”

Other notables:

-Escanaba native Michelle LaFave is averaging 7.6 ppg on 52 percent shooting at Tech. She scored a career high 17 points while shooting 8-11 (72.7 percent) from the field against Ashland Jan. 4.

– Esky junior Brandon Robinette, is flourishing at Finlandia University, averaging 12.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 2 apg with a breakout game against Lakeland University with 19 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.

– North Central sophomore Jaycee Faccio averages 3.3 ppg and 1.5 rpg for Finlandia. She scored a season-high six points against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

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