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From the WIAC --

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Wyatt Cook was chosen the Player of the Year to top the individuals selected to the 2021 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Basketball Team by the league coaches. In addition, UW-Stout’s Lovell Williams was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year and UW-La Crosse’s Kent Dernbach the Coach of the Year. 

Cook is the sixth individual in program archives to receive Player of the Year recognition, joining Eric Haug (1975), John Mielke (1981), Joe Werner (2007), Tony Mane (2011) and Jared Staege (2016). He ranked fourth in the conference with a .522 three-point field goal percentage, fifth with a .544 field goal percentage and sixth with 16.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Cook scored at least 14 points in eight of 10 contests, including a season-high 26 points at UW-Stout on Feb. 17. 

Williams was the top freshman scorer in the WIAC with 12.0 points per contest and ranked second in the conference with a .545 three-point field goal percentage, third with a 2.00 assist-to-turnover ratio and 13th with a .513 field goal percentage. He had a season-high 20 points against UW-River Falls on Feb. 3. A Newcomer of the Year is defined as a student-athlete who used his first season of participation in men’s basketball this season. 

UW-La Crosse’s Ethan Anderson and UW-Platteville’s Quentin Shields were repeat selections on the first team from a season ago, while UW-Platteville’s Justin Stovall was a repeat pick on the five-member All-Defensive Team. 

Dernbach was selected the Coach of the Year for the first time in his career after directing the Eagles to an 8-3 record and a spot in the conference title game. UW-La Crosse accumulated a 5-1 mark in West Division contests and the top seed in the division. Dernbach completed his fourth season at UW-La Crosse and owns a 59-32 record. 

An All-Sportsmanship Team was chosen for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each school. 

2021 All-WIAC Men’s Basketball Team 
Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)

Ethan Anderson, La Crosse, Junior, Guard, Black River Falls, Wis. (Black River Falls) 
Levi Borchert, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Forward, Kimberly, Wis. (Kimberly) 
Wyatt Cook, La Crosse, Senior, Forward, Pewaukee, Wis. (Pewaukee) 
Philip Flory, Stevens Point, Junior, Forward, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. (Oshkosh North) 
Gage Malensek, Whitewater, Sophomore, Guard, Brookfield, Wis. (Central) 
Eddie Muench, Oshkosh, Senior, Guard, Ripon, Wis. (Ripon) 
Alex Ohde, River Falls, Senior, Forward, Chetek, Wis. (Chippewa Falls McDonell Central) 
Hunter Plamann, Oshkosh, Junior, Guard, Appleton, Wis. (Xavier) 
Quentin Shields, Platteville, Senior, Guard, Chicago, Ill. (Brooks College Prep Academy) 
Justin Stovall, Platteville, Senior, Forward, Chicago, Ill. (Whitney Young)

Honorable Mention 

Tyreese Alexander, Stout, Senior, Forward, Pontiac, Mich. (Oxford)
Seth Anderson, La Crosse, Junior, Forward, Marshfield, Wis. (Marshfield) 
Trevon Chisholm, Whitewater, Sophomore, Forward, McFarland, Wis. (McFarland) 
Noah Hanson, River Falls, Junior, Guard, Eau Claire, Wis. (North) 
Cam Kuepers, Eau Claire, Senior, Guard, Madison, Wis. (Lakeside Lutheran) 
Will Mahoney, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Guard, Appleton, Wis. (West) 
Garrett Nelson, Stevens Point, Senior, Guard, Beaver Dam, Wis. (Beaver Dam) 
Armani Tinsley, Stout, Senior, Guard, Detroit, Mich. (Western International) 
Kyle Tuma, Platteville, Junior, Forward, Valders, Wis. (Valders) 

All-Defensive Team

Seth Anderson, La Crosse, Junior, Forward, Marshfield, Wis. (Marshfield)
Eric Peterson, Oshkosh, Junior, Guard, Batavia, Ill. (Batavia) 
Justin Stovall, Platteville, Senior, Forward, Chicago, Ill. (Whitney Young) 
Sean Suchomel, La Crosse, Senior, Guard, Sun Prairie, Wis. (Sun Prairie) 
Alex Voigt, Eau Claire, Sophomore, Forward, Sun Prairie, Wis. (Sun Prairie) 

All-Sportsmanship Team 

Brian Conaghan, Whitewater, Sophomore, Guard, Wilmette, Ill. (New Trier) 
Luke Geiger, Stout, Senior, Guard, Burlington, Wis. (Burlington) 
Justin Jarvensivu, Platteville, Senior, Forward, Tomahawk, Wis. (Tomahawk) 
Cam Kuepers, Eau Claire, Senior, Guard, Madison, Wis. (Lakeside Lutheran) 
Tommy McGlynn, Oshkosh, Senior, Guard, Stoughton, Wis. (Stoughton) 
Craig Steele, La Crosse, Sophomore, Guard, Portage, Wis. (Portage) 
Brady Wagner, Stevens Point, Senior, Guard, Lake Mills, Wis. (Lake Mills) 
Austin Werdin, River Falls, Junior, Forward, Eau Claire, Wis. (North) 

Player of the Year:  Wyatt Cook of La Crosse 

Newcomer of the Year:  Lovell Williams of Stout

Coach of the Year:  Kent Dernbach of La Crosse 

University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Justin Fox has been selected recipient of the 2021 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete Award. 

A senior from Emington, Ill. (Dwight Township), Fox boasts a 3.98 grade point average and is majoring in agriculture business and animal science. He earned a spot on the 2019-20 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court and contributed to the Pioneer team that secured a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award. Fox is a two-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and been recognized on UW-Platteville’s Gabe Miller Honor Roll, Dean’s List and Chancellor’s List numerous semesters. 

A team captain, Fox was a member of UW-Platteville’s WIAC regular-season championship teams in 2018, 2020 and 2021, as well as the 2019 and 2021 squads that claimed the conference tournament title. The Pioneers also advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament in 2018, 2019 and 2020. 

Fox has volunteered for the Iowa County Food Pantry and Reading with the Pioneers. In addition, he was a student worker on UW-Platteville’s campus farm. 

UW-River Falls’ Alex Ohde (Sr., Chetek, Wis./Chippewa Falls McDonell Central) and UW-Stout’s Brady Booth (Sr., Boyd, Wis./Stanley-Boyd) were also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award. 

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger, who served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference for 22 years from 1971-93. He oversaw the transition of the conference from NAIA to full NCAA membership. Sparger arrived at UW-Stout in 1959 and served the institution in a variety of capacities, including an assistant football and basketball coach, head wrestling coach and head football coach. He served as UW-Stout's athletics director from 1969-71 and was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
 
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, he must be in his last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.