Feck named GNC co-player of the year

The rewards within the Great Northern Conference were quite plentiful for the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team after winning its third straight conference championship.

Senior Devon Feck was voted the conference’s co-player of the year, Derek Lemmens was named conference coach of the year and all five Hodag starters received recognition when the GNC unveiled its all-conference boys’ basketball team on Monday. 

Feck was a unanimous first-team pick while junior forward Abe Gretzinger also landed on the first team. Senior forward Evan Shoeder made the second team while senior Jatyn Barkus and junior both Rowan Wiczek received honorable mention. 

“I think all five are so deserving and I love the fact that those individual accolades, as much as they make a person feel good, these guys are really team-first players,” Lemmens said. “So it’s great when you have guys like that come together for one common goal.”

Feck and Northland Pines senior Mylo Albrecht split player of the year honors and were both unanimous first-team choices. They finished second and third in the GNC scoring race behind the other unanimous first-teamer, Brayden Reinke of Mosinee. 

Feck averaged 19.3 points per game in league play, led the conference both in free throw percentage (.842) and assists (77) and was second in the league in made 3-pointers (46). Feck’s signature moment came in a career-high 33-point effort Feb. 26 as Rhinelander defeated Mosinee 75-73 in double overtime to clinch a share of the conference title. 

“I think all season, he’s made that statement,” Lemmens said. “He’s outstanding. He’s made so many big plays when we need it. He’s shown up to big games. He’s garnered so much attention. Nothing he does comes easy and he still finds a way. And then his ability to pass out of it has really made him that much harder to guard and made us that much more effective as a team.”

    In this Feb. 26, 2026 file photo, Rhinelander’s Abe Gretzinger drives to the basket during a GNC boys’ basketball game in Mosinee. Gretzinger earned first-team honors from the GNC when the all-conference boys’ basketball team was announced Monday, March 9. He was one of five Hodags to receive all-conference recognition. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Gretzinger was eighth overall in the conference in scoring (208 points) and ninth in total rebounds (77). He also had the second-best field goal percentage in the league (.626), trailing only Reinke. Behind the three unanimous selections, Gretzinger and Mosinee’s Treve Stoffel were the next two highest vote getters from the conference coaches and rounded out the first team. 

“Abe Gretzinger, his presence inside, he’s just so tenacious in the paint and just so aggressive and where he’s gotten so much better from last year is the body control,” Lemmens said. “Last year he would rip that ball through and he would go strong, but he didn’t always have his feet under him and he wasn’t always balanced and under control. He’s done a great job of really being under control with his moves, and when he gets a deep paint touch, he’s a really hard guy to guard.”

Both Feck and Gretzinger shot up the all-conference list from last year. Feck was a second-team selection each of the previous two seasons while Gretzinger received honorable mention a season ago. 

Shoeder reprized his role on the season team from a season ago after making the conference leaderboard in a numbers of categories. He was third in the league in total rebounds (117) and blocked shots (18) while placing fifth in field goal percentage (.543). He averaged 10.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in league play. 

“Evan does so much that doesn’t make headlines,” Lemmens said. “He’s the leading rebounder, which is so important. He really helps us finish possessions. He has so much ability offensively and there’s some times where I feel like we didn’t get the most out of him offensively for what he’s capable of doing, but again, another guy in the post, and then also can step out and knock down the 3. When you have two bigs like that, that creates really difficult matchups.”

Barkus received honorable mention from the conference for a second year in a row and did a bit of everything for the Hodags. While he made the GNC leaderboard in only one category, tying for fourth in steals (33), he averaged 8.4 points, 3.8 points and 2.6 assists in league play — all while serving as one of Rhinelander’s top defenders. 

“Jay, I thought could have definitely been a consideration for second team as well,” Lemmens said. “You’re sacrificing stats for the betterment of the team. What he brought defensively is, again, really hard to express and really show in some kind of number form. Then on top of it, the lift that we get when he brings those dunks and some of those types of plays, he really made a lot of game changing plays.”

Wiczek appeared on the all-conference list for the first time in his basketball career. Like Barkus, his calling card became defense, but he also turned into another shooter for the Hodags during the second half of the season. He was 14 of 39 (36%) from 3-point range during conference play, and that was despite not making his first 3-pointer of the season until the month of January.

“Him and Jay really defended guards well,” Lemmens said. “And his ability to knock down the 3, I think he shot about 35%, but that’s shooting and missing your first 17 of the season. So if you take out that 17-shot cushion, he’s in the mid 40s. And he’s really been consistent for us down the stretch.”

Lemmens was voted the GNC’s coach of the year for the seventh time in his career and third year in a row. He was the sole choice by his peers this season after splitting the honor with Mosinee’s Matt Lindsey in 2024-25 and Medford’s Ryan Brown in 2023-24.

The Hodags went 22-4 overall this season and advanced to the regional final round of the WIAA tournament. Rhinelander won its third straight conference title, its eighth as a member of the GNC and 26th overall in program history. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].