Des Moines’ Yaw receives Gary Dirksen Achievement Award

Central College

PELLA—Central College men’s basketball forward Nana-Yaw Sapon-Amoah (Ghana, Africa, Des Moines Christian HS) has received the 2014 Gary Dirksen Achievement Award.

Yaw, a two-time letterwinner and Des Moines Christian High School graduate, helped the Dutch piece together their championship campaign, which concluded in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Central, which was picked to finish last in the Iowa Conference preseason poll, won its 17th league title and made its 10th NCAA tourney appearance, the most of any conference school.

The 6-foor-4 forward played in all 27 regular season and conference tournament games, averaging 3.7 points per game. He was fourth on the team in rebounding (4.6) and second in blocked shots (0.7). Yaw missed the two NCAA tournament games due to injury.

Named for a Central graduate, long-time college administrator and ardent supporter of Dutch athletics, the Gary Dirksen Achievement Award is presented to a player who strives to achieve at a high level on and off the court. Consideration is given to the player’s academic efforts, as well as attempts to serve in leadership roles on campus and through community involvement. Yaw is a business management major with an emphasis in marketing.

The Dutch finished 21-8 overall with an 11-3 record in conference play, their best records since last winning the league crown in 2009-10. Ten letterwinners are slated to return for the 2014-15 season.