Beasley POY, Henry COY, Three Others Honored
Brandon Beasley earns the MCC Player of the Year
Oskaloosa- Several of the top players on the best team in the nation as well as their coach were recognized as the all-Midwest Collegiate Conference men’s basketball teams were announced by the league office Wednesday.
As expected, Brandon Beasley (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Physical Education) was recognized as MCC Player of the Year, while Keith Steffeck (Sr., Marion, Iowa, Physical Education) joined him on the ten-person first team.
Kevin Fay (Jr., Hennepin, Ill., Physical Education) and Blake Walker (Jr., Rose Garden, Ga., Physical Education) both garnered honorable mentions as ten individuals were selected for that squad. The team’s four selections is a school record.
Head Coach John Henry completed the list as he garnered his second career MCC Coach of the Year award from his peers.
Darren Galloway of St. Ambrose was named MCC Newcomer of the Year.
#1 William Penn is currently 30-1 this year (12-0 MCC), including winning the league’s regular season and tournament crowns. The Statesmen figure to be the top seed in next week’s NAIA Division II National Championships.
Beasley, the third league MVP in school history, is pacing the navy and gold to the highest scoring average in the nation at 95.6 points per contest. The senior is currently averaging 18.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks per outing. He has posted 13 double-doubles and has scored at least 20 points on a dozen occasions.
He ranks high in the conference in almost every major category, including being first in rebounding, second in scoring, steal average, and field-goal percentage (.544), third in block average, and fourth in assist average.
In conference play, Beasley was even better with 21.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.1 steals per contest (all MCC highs). On the national stage, he is ninth in steal average, 19th in scoring, and 24th in rebounding.
Beasley, who is a first-time honoree, was named MCC Player of the Week seven times this year and collected NAIA Division II Player of the Week laurels on February 12.
Steffeck, also a first-time pick, is averaging 14.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, a team-best 2.0 blocks, and 0.9 steals. He has recorded seven double-doubles and has surpassed the 20-point mark four times.
The senior leads the league in block average (2.0), is second in three-pointers made (72), fourth in rebounding, seventh in scoring and free-throw percentage (.742), and eighth in three-point percentage (.381).
Steffeck earned his lone MCC Player of the Week accolade earlier this week.
Now a three-time honoree (two honorable mentions), Walker is averaging 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. His greatest contribution, though, has come by way of distributing the ball. The junior is dishing out a league-best 5.3 assists per game, and is doing so with few mistakes (league-leading 2.5-to-1 assist/turnover ratio. His 1.9 offensive rebound average is also sixth in the conference, while his 29.9 minutes per outing ranks ninth.
Recently Walker became the first player in William Penn history to record 1,000 career points and 400 career assists. He has also posted 33 steals and 12 blocks this winter.
Fay’s first league nod was earned with his strong perimeter game. The junior is averaging 11.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in addition to 51 assists, 19 steals, and six blocks. His 70 three pointers (2.3 per game) are third in the MCC and his .391 three point clip is fifth.
Fay was an MCC POW back in November.
