14 March 2000
CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, 309-556-3206IWU's Korey Coon Repeats
Academic All-America HonorBLOOMINGTON, Ill. — For the second straight year, Illinois Wesleyan University senior Korey Coon has been named GTE® College Division "Academic All-American of the Year" for men's basketball.
Coon, who was a repeat selection to the first team of the GTE® Academic All-America squad, was named last week as the winner of the Jostens Trophy, recognizing the outstanding student-athlete in Division III basketball.
It is the fourth time an IWU athlete has won the "Academic All-American of the Year" honors. In addition to Coon in 1999 and 2000, quarterback Lon Erickson was the College Division Football "Academic All-America of the Year" in 1996 and outfielder James Rinne won the honor in baseball in 1998.
Coon's selection brings to 96 the total number of Academic All-America berths earned by IWU student-athletes since the program began in 1970. Only Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Bucknell have more total Academic All-Americans than Illinois Wesleyan.
To be considered for the GTE Academic All-America squads, players must be of at least sophomore standing, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 (of 4.0), and be a starter or first-line reserve. The teams are chosen by a voting board representing the 1,800 members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The 6-foot guard from East Peoria High School has a 4.0 grade-point average as a risk management and history major. A member of the IWU Economics Society, he is the author of "Macroeconomic Effect of the GM Strike" paper for economics journal. Coon is a volunteer for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, was a Relay for Life Walk participant, and Kiwanis Club guest speaker. On campus, he is a member of the Titan Law Club, treasurer of the Risk Management and Finance Society, and president of the Phi Eta Sigma scholastic honorary.
He was a second team Academic All-American as a sophomore and was one of 10 Jostens Trophy finalists as a junior.
For the past two seasons, Coon has been the co-winner of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin "Most Outstanding Player" award and was an all-CCIW first team selection for three straight years.
This year, Coon averaged 22.0 points per game for the 17-8 Titans, connecting on 157 of 163 free throws (.963). He was IWU's leading scorer in 17 games, including a career-high 42 against North Central.
He finished his career fifth in scoring at IWU with 1,782 points, No. 2 in career free throws made (449), and as the all-time leader with 245 3-point field goals.
Coon’s career free throw percentage was .913 (449 of 492), a school standard, and he holds the NCAA Division III and school records for consecutive free throws in a career with 70. His streak was from Feb. 13 (at North Central) to Dec. 4, 1999 (vs. Benedictine) and included 29 straight to end last year.
Coon also etched his name in the CCIW record books for career free throw percentage with a mark of .914 (224 of 245), topping the mark of .890, set by Gary Jackson of Millikin in 1980-81 when he made 89 of 100. Coon also finished as the CCIW's eighth best 3-point shooter with an accuracy of .459 (123 of 268). He is tied with IWU's Steve Kuehl, who shot .459 from 1989-93.
Coon was a 1999-2000 preseason All-American in Street & Smith's and Basketball Times magazines after being named as a second team All-American in 1999 by Basketball Times and on National Association of Basketball Coaches squad.
He is the son of Larry and Nancy Coon, 601 Oakwood Rd., East Peoria.
2000 COLLEGE DIVISION
GTE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA BASKETBALL TEAMFIRST TEAM
Neil Bhutta, Emory, Sr., 3.97/Physics/Economics/Math
** Korey Coon, Illinois Wesleyan, Sr., 4.00/Risk Management/ History
Kevin Hanlon, Wentworth Tech., Sr., 3.97/Construction Engineering Tech.
Jerome Maiatico, Franklin & Marshall, Sr., 3.93/Business Accounting/Government
Jason Reinberg, Truman State, Sr., 4.00/Biology/Pre-MedicineSECOND TEAM
Casey Estling, South Dakota State, Sr., 4.00/Economics
David Evans, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Sr., 3.58/Biology
Jeremy Kudera, South Dakota, Jr., 3.97/Pre-Medicine
Lance Meincke, Winona State, Sr., 3.96/Marketing
Aaron Winkle, Calvin, Sr., 3.55/Business AdministrationTHIRD TEAM
Pat Britton, Ithaca, Sr., 3.54/Exercise Science
Josh Estelle, Wabash, Sr., 3.25/Speech
Ashton Fritz, Clarkson, Sr., 3.80/Civil Engineering
Craig Heffernan, MIT, Jr., 4.0 (5.0 scale) Electrical Enginering/Computer Science
Mark Watermasysk, Allentown, Sr., 3.62/Accounting/Finance**GTE Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year - College Division