February is here, and it’s the last full month of the DII men’s basketball season. Before we look ahead, let’s take a look back at the stars from January.
Not much has changed since the December all-stats starting five. The players that dominated in 2024 seem to be getting even better in 2025. Many faces are the same, but the stats are even better.
If you are new to the all-stats starting five, this is my monthly dream team based purely on statistical leaders in DII men’s basketball. This is not an indication of who “the best” players in DII men’s basketball are — that’s more of what the Bevo Francis Award watchlist is about. Some of these players may be outright No. 1 in a single category, while others are sometimes top five in several categories. This is a look at the moment, a snapshot of some of DII’s statistical leaders as we hit the home stretch.
DII MEN’S BASKETBALL CENTRAL
The January DII men’s basketball All-Stats Starting Five
(Note: All stats through Jan. 31 per NCAA.org)
Guard: Dallas Graziani, Nova Southeastern
Like I said last month, this spot seems like it is going to be a back-and-forth battle between Pace’s Tray Alexander and Graziani. November went to Graziani, December saw Alexander, and now Graziani — the DII men’s basketball assist leader after three months of the season — is back in the mix. Nova Southeastern leads DII in scoring, assist-to-turnover ratio, and steals (among a slew of other things), and Graziani is the engine that makes it all go. On the season, Graziani is averaging 12.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 9.9 assists, and 3.1 steals per game (third-most in DII). He is also in the top 10 in DII with 10 double-doubles, four of which came in January.
Guard: Adrian McIntyre, Westmont
Looking at his still photos (and watching him play) you kind of want to give McIntyre the nickname “Air” or “Skywalker.” This is the second-straight month that Westmont’s 6-foot-3 guard has made the all-stats lineup and that’s because it’s the second-straight month he finished as DII men’s basketball top scorer. He’s averaging 26.9 points per game — 13.3 more than his 2023-24 debut season — while shooting 55.2 percent — 8.1 percent better than last year. He’s also putting up a career-high 5.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game, contributing in just about every aspect of the game.
Also considered: Tray Alexander, Pace; MJ Iraldi, Nova Southeastern; Dwaine Jones, Charleston (WV); Walter Peggs Jr., Spring Hill; Chris Terrell, Delta State; Marcus Tomashek, Michigan Tech.
Forward: Caleb Van De Griend, Minot State
The 6-foot-8 forward has actually been even better since his December all-stats team appearance. Van De Griend played eight January games and had seven double-doubles. Some of those were monster games — he posted 15 or more rebounds six times. In fact, he reeled off a 33-point, 22-rebound double-double to open 2025. His 18 double-doubles are second to none at any level of men’s college basketball this year. On the season, he’s scoring 19.8 points with 13.2 rebounds per game all while shooting 71.3 percent from the floor, third highest in DII.
Forward: Hobert Grayson, Ouachita Baptist/Cenker Evran, Edinboro
This was so close that you couldn’t really separate the two, leading to a tie for just the second time in the history of the all-stats teams. Grayson returns for a second-straight month because he is the top-scoring forward in DII with 24 points per game. He scored fewer than 22 points just once in eight January games. He double-doubled in three of them giving him 11 on the season, another top-5 mark in DII. Grayson chips in 11.3 rebounds, sixth overall in DII, so he is definitely filling up the box scores.
Evran was in the first all-stats lineup of the season and returns now as the DII leader in rebounds, pulling down 13.4 per game. He is second to Van De Griend with 16 double-doubles and chips in 15.5 points per game on an impressive 69.8 percent shooting, fourth-best in the division.
Also considered: Paul Greene, Southern New Hampshire; Nick Reid, Upper Iowa; Maceo Williams, Ashland
Center: Max Amadasun, Augusta
When Augusta had Tyshaun Crawford filling the paint, not only did the Jaguars enjoy much success, he was a fixture on the all-stats teams for the better part of two years. Amadasun appears to be trying to do the same. Where do we start? Amadasun leads all DII centers with 11 double-doubles. He edged out Daemen’s Benjamin Bill for the top-scoring center by 0.02 points per game at 17.3. He’s also leading all centers in rebounds at 10.8 per game. He shoots a very respectable 58.3 percent and is certainly a large (pun intended) reason Augusta is in the hunt for the PBC title.
Also considered: Benjamin Bill, Daemen; Nathan Claerbaut, Ferris State; Sergey Grishaev, Rollins; Matt Lane, Molloy; Creighton Morisch, Sioux Falls
