BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- For the third year in a row and the fifth time in the last six seasons, an Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball player has won the "Fred Young Most Outstanding Player" award in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Korey Coon, a 6-foot junior guard from East Peoria (HS), shared the recognition with Wheaton senior forward Rob Hamann, marking the first time in the 32 seasons of the honor that two players have shared the award.
Coon was also elected to the first team of the all-conference squad while senior teammates Nathan Hubbard and Andrew Boyden were chosen to the second team in voting by league coaches Tuesday in Wheaton.
Coon was a first team all-CCIW choice a year ago and was named to the third team as a freshman. This year he led the conference in scoring with a 19.1 average and in 3-point shooting with a .487 percentage (38 of 78). He was second in the league with an .890 free throw percentage (65 of 73) and 10th in field goal percentage (.488, 82 of 168).
Hubbard, a 6-foot-4 guard from Normal (U High), was also a second team all-CCIW player as a junior. This season he was sixth in the CCIW in assists (3.8), fifth in steals (1.8), and ninth in 3-point shooting percentage (.385). Hubbard scored 13.7 points and got 5.9 rebounds in 12 conference games.
Boyden, a 6-foot-9 center from Galesburg (HS), was a third team all-league selection last season. In 14 CCIW games this year he tied for fifth with 6.4 rebounds per game and was third in field goal shooting (.603, 88 of 146). He averaged 14.6 points against league opponents.
As a team, IWU was second in the conference in free throw shooting (.733) and field goal percentage (.499), and scoring (75.4 points). The Titans were third in 3-point field goal marksmanship (.396) and second in scoring defense (66.3).
The Titans, winners of eight straight games, have a 17-8 record and play an NCAA Division III first-round game at Ripon College Thursday night. IWU finished second in the CCIW with a 10-4 mark.
IWU junior Mike Rogers (Chicago, St. Ignatius
HS) tied Boyden for fifth in the CCIW in rebounding with a 6.4 average
and was sixth in field goal percentage at .507 (36 of 71). Junior Jerry
Happ (Winnetka, New Trier HS) tied for 10th
in the league with 1.3 steals per game.
It is the 13th time since the honor was started in 1968 that an IWU player has claimed the award. Other winners were Brent Niebrugge (1998), Bryan Crabtree (1997), Chris Simich (1995), John Lipic (1994), David Caldwell (1991), Jeff Kuehl (1989), Blaise Bugajski (1984), Greg Yess (1982), Jack Sikma (1975, 1976, 1977), and Tom Gramkow (1970).
It is only the ninth time in 32 seasons that the award did not go solely to a member of the league championship team and the first time a junior has won the award since Wesley Pitts of Wheaton in 1996. IWU's Jeff Kuehl was also a junior when he won the honor in 1989.
The award is named for 1915 IWU graduate Fred Young, who was the conference's first commissioner and served in the position 17 years. He was a longtime sports editor and columnist at The Pantagraph and starred at IWU in basketball (all-state four years), baseball and tennis.
First Team
Korey Coon, Illinois Wesleyan
Rob Hamann, Wheaton
Eric Stark, Elmhurst
Jason Wiertel, Carthage
Adam Provance, Millikin
Second Team
Andrew Boyden, Illinois Wesleyan
Nathan Hubbard, Illinois Wesleyan
Ryan Knuppel, Elmhurst
Aaron Schmidt, Augustana
Charles Ridley, Wheaton
Third Team
Travis Senik, Wheaton
Yulander Wells, North Central
James Ford, Elmhurst
Kerry Pates, North Park
Michael Collins, Wheaton