KINGSFORD – Kingsford High School standout Jeff Gregory set a goal of playing college basketball.
That place will be Michigan Tech University in Houghton.
“Jeff told me that he really wanted to play ball somewhere,” Flivver coach Dan Olkkonen said. “He was not really recruited hard by any Division II schools, so I told him that he had to be able to sell himself to those programs.”
Gregory, a two-time Great Northern Conference Player of the Year, was able to work out for Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State coaches.
“Both coaches had very good things to say about him,” Olkkonen said. “Coach (Kevin) Luke was impressed with the way he handled himself, and he looks for Jeff to develop within a few years.”
Gregory will join the Huskies as a non-scholarship player.
“I told Jeff that if he is passionate about playing basketball, then he has to accept the position he is in and work on what the coaches feel he needs to do to be able to contribute in a few years,” Olkkonen said. “Coach Luke said he is a Tech-type-kid, and that is a big compliment coming from a coach as well respected as Kevin Luke.”
The 6-foot-1 point guard averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals this past season. The All-U.P. “Dream Team” pick helped the Flivvers to their first Great Northern Conference title since 1999.
“There’s a great tradition at Michigan Tech that I want to be a part of,” said Gregory, who will major in business finance.
Gregory was a three-year starter for the Flivvers.
“I am very proud of him and I wish him well at Tech,” Olkkonen said.
Michigan Tech, 16-12 in 2012, won the GLIAC North Division title for the first time since 2003.
This article was originally published on May 29, 2012 by the Iron Mountain Daily News.
Last semester, some of Dr. Emanuel Oliveira’s students of EC3003 Macroeconomic Theory and EC4400 Banking & Financial Institutions courses participated in the 2011 iOme national competition (