POY to Walker, NOY to Schwab, Five Total Honored
An injured Blake Walker overcame an injured ankle to lead his team over Viterbo.
Oskaloosa–A school-record five Statesmen cagers were honored for exceptional campaigns as the all-Midwest Collegiate Conference men’s basketball teams were announced by the league office Tuesday.
Blake Walker (Sr., Rose Garden, Ga., Physical Education) was named MCC Player of the Year, while Alec Schwab (Jr., Peru, Ill., Business Management) and Kelly Madison (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, Physical Education) also garnered recognition on the ten-person first team.
Roberts Baltruns (So., Riga, Latvia, Business Management) and Erik McGee (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Elementary Education) were also honorable mentions (ten total individual earned honorable-mention status). One season after the national runner-up team broke the program record with four all-conference selections, this year’s squad has set a new standard.
Schwab also took home the league’s Newcomer of the Year accolade. While Walker is old hat to the postseason squad (fourth honor–second first-team nod), the other four honorees all collected their first laurel Tuesday.
Ray Shovlain of St. Ambrose was named MCC Coach of the Year after the Fighting Bees won the regular season title.
William Penn (22-9, 9-3 MCC), which is riding an eight-game winning streak, is waiting to see who it will play in the first round of next week’s NAIA Division II National Championships. Fans can watch the selection show at www.naia.org
Walker, the fifth league MVP in program history (second in a row), had gaudy overall numbers, but was most impressive in ball distribution. He is currently averaging 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in addition to 19 steals and 14 blocks. He leads the conference in assists, assist/turnover ratio (3.0), and minutes played (31.5) as well as ranking high in offensive rebounds (3rd, 2.4) and overall rebounds (9th).
The senior has reached double figures 19 times, including a 38-point showing against Graceland on November 8. He has also produced four double-doubles this year and has been close to a triple-double on several occasions. Walker was MCC Player of the Week on February 24.
Schwab was exceptional in league action, leading all players with 20.8 points in the ten games he played (injured in first two). Overall this season, the junior is sixth with 16.1 points and also averages 5.0 rebounds in addition to 41 assists, 28 steals, and four blocks. He tops the MCC in free-throw percentage (81.3%) and three-pointers made per game (2.9). Schwab, a two-time MCC Player of the Week, is also eighth in the conference in three-point percentage (37.3%). He has met double figures 21 times this season, highlighted by a career-high 43 points on February 8 against Clarke. The junior has tallied two double-doubles as well.
WPU’s leading scorer, Madison is averaging 16.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in addition to 73 assists, 25 steals, and seven blocks. The junior, who has been in double figures on 27 occasions, is fifth in the MCC in scoring. He also ranks third in three-pointers per game (2.4) and sixth in offensive rebounds per outing (1.8). His season-best 36 points versus Bellevue on November 18 helped him to an MCC Player of the Week award on November 25. Madison has one double-double this year.
Baltruns is averaging 9.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in addition to 20 assists, eight steals, and eight blocks. The junior is another perimeter specialist for the Statesmen, ranking third in the league in three-point percentage (43.1%) and fifth in trifectas made (2.1). He has tallied 13 double-digit performances, including 20 points versus Clarke on February 8.
McGee has been a rebounding fiend, topping all conference players with 8.7 rebounds per game, but was even more spectacular in MCC action at 11.3. The junior, who averages 5.2 points (68.0% FG), is first in offensive boards (4.0) and fifth in defensive caroms (4.7). He has also been terrific defensively with 0.8 blocked shots per night, good for second in the league. McGee has recorded two double-doubles this year.
For the complete 2013-2014 all-MCC men’s basketball teams, go to http://www.midwestcollegiateconference.com/article/1679.php
