222 Third Street SE Ste.

423 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401 [Phone] (319) 366-4975 [Fax] (319) 366-4911 www.iowaconference.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 14, 2012

Contact: Joshua Schroeder jschroeder@iowaconference.com 319-366-4975

2012-2013 IOWA CONFERENCE MENS BASKETBALL PREVIEW

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- Coe College, which is coming off its first Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) mens basketball title since 2006, is the clear favorite of the leagues coaches to capture the 2012-2013 Iowa Conference title. The Kohawks received six of seven possible first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own teams), totaling 55 points in the IIAC Mens Basketball Coaches Poll. Buena Vista University picked up one of the two remaining first-place votes and sits second with 50 points. The Beavers were picked second on six ballots in addition to their first place vote. The University of Dubuque captured the final first-place vote, but was slotted anywhere from third to fifth on the remaining ballots and sits third with 40 points, just ahead of 2010 champion Luther with 37 points. The complete 2012-2013 IIAC Mens Basketball Coaches Poll follows. Rank 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 School (1st place votes) Coe (6) Buena Vista (1) Dubuque (1) Luther Loras Simpson Central Wartburg Points 55 50 40 37 28 28 26 16 2011-2012 Record 19-8, 12-4 IIAC 17-11, 11-5 IIAC 17-9, 11-5 IIAC 17-9, 10-6 IIAC 7-18, 4-12 IIAC 12-14, 8-8 IIAC 18-8, 10-6 IIAC 11-14, 5-11 IIAC

Opening Weekend: The 2012-2013 Iowa Conference mens basketball season begins Thursday, November 15 with only

Central taking to the hardwood in a home tilt with Monmouth (Ill.). The other seven schools open their seasons the following day. Nov. 15 Nov. 16 Monmouth (Ill.) at Central, 8 p.m. Dubuque vs. Benedictine (Ill.), 5:30 p.m., at Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill. Buena Vista vs. Carthage, 6 p.m., at Carroll University, Waukesha, Wis. Loras vs. Millikin, 6 p.m., at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Ill. Coe at Illinois Wesleyan, 8 p.m. Luther at Dominican (Ill.), 8 p.m. Simpson at Bethel (Minn.), 8 p.m. Crown at Wartburg, 8 p.m.

The 14-date Iowa Conference schedule begins Saturday, January 5, with a full slate of four league games. Preseason Poll: Defending champion Coe is receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll New Faces: There are two new coaches in the league for the 2012-2013 season Craig Douma at Central and Bryan Martin at Coe. Douma, a two-time NAIA all-America honoree at Northwestern College, was the coach at Carroll High School the past six years after spending the previous nine seasons at South OBrien High School in Paullina. He compiled a lofty 26878 (.774) record over 15 seasons, including a 123-32 (.793) mark at Carroll, where he piloted state tournament squads in 2007, 2009 and 2010 and reached the substate round five times in six seasons. He replaces Mike Boschee, who resigned in July after nine seasons to become the head coach at Division II Bemidji State (Minn.) University. Martin, a 1999 Simpson graduate, has spent the last four years as the associate head coach at Division I North Dakota, where he also served as the recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator. Prior to working at North Dakota, Martin was the head

coach at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC). Inheriting a squad that had gone 5-26 the previous season, the Trojans won 15 games and advanced to the regional semifinals in Martins first year. During his second season, NIACC set a school record for regular season victories, as they were 23-8 with another appearance in the regional semifinals. He replaces Pat Juckem, who resigned after seven years to take the head coaching position at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Team-By-Team Preview: A brief preview for each Iowa Conference team follows.

Buena Vista University Beavers

17-11 overall, 11-5 IIAC (tie-second)
Head Coach: Brian VanHaaften (18th season at BVU, 321-123 overall [17 years]) IIAC Titles (last): 10 (2009) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 7 (2012) Starters returning/lost 2 / 3 Letterwinners returning/lost 5 / 7 All-IIAC players returning 2 (Nordquist, 1st-11,12; Ticknor, 2nd-10) Honorable mention returning 0

Buena Vista returns two starters and five letterwinners from last seasons 17-11 team that tied for second in the league with an 11-5 record, won the Iowa Conference tournament and made its 10th appearance in the NCAA Division III Mens Basketball Championship. The Beavers will be led by senior center Wes Nordquist, a two-time first team all-Iowa Conference selection. Nordquist led the team in scoring (15.4 points per game), rebounding (8.4 rpg) and blocks (27) and ranked second in steals (33) while shooting 54.5 percent from the field. He ranked second among league players in rebounding, fourth in scoring and field goal percentage, sixth in blocks and 10th in steals. In league play, he averaged 16.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and shot 56.8 percent from the field, ranking second in the conference in each of the categories and third in the last. In the backcourt will be guards Michael Kaufmann and Cole Darrow. Kaufmann, a junior, started all 28 games last season, averaging a team-high 27.9 minutes per game. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring at 7.2 points per game supported primarily by his 31.4 percent shooting (32-of-102) from 3-point range. Kaufmann also had a team-high 87 assists, ranking fifth in the league, was third on the squad in steals with 30 and had the leagues best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.93 overall; 2.39 in league play). Darrow, a sophomore, played in all 28 games last season, averaging 4.9 points per game. Also helping the cause for Buena Vista will be the return of guard Troy Ticknor, a second team all-league pick in 2009-10, who suffered a season-ending knee injury during the preseason last year. Ticknor started 23 games in 2010-11, averaging 12.0 points. He was the leagues top free-throw shooter that season (88.0 percent overall; 92.3 percent in league play) and ranked among the league leaders in 3-point shooting. Buena Vista head coach Brian Van Haaften says, We have a really tight knit group that loves to compete. We have high expectations for ourselves and look forward to every game being very tough in the conference this year."

Central College Dutch

18-8 overall, 10-6 IIAC (tie-fourth)
Head Coach: Craig Douma (1st season at CEN; 0-0 overall) IIAC Titles (last): 16 (2010) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 1 (2010) Starters returning/lost 1 / 4 Letterwinners returning/lost 12 / 4 All-IIAC players returning 1 (Winkler, 12-2nd) Honorable mention returning 0

Central returns 12 letterwinners but just one starter from last seasons 18-8 team that tied for fourth place with a 10-6 league mark. Senior center Jacob Winkler didnt start a single game for the Dutch last season, but he finished the year averaging 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game to rank second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding. Winkler also shot a team-best 56.2 percent from the field en route to second team all-league honors. Among all IIAC players, he ranked 20th in scoring, eighth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage. His field goal percentage jumped to 57.3 percent in league play, good for second in the league. Senior forward Nick Marinkovich played in 20 of 26 games a year ago, averaging 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He ranked fourth on the team and 28th among IIAC players in scoring. Senior guard KJ Cool is the lone returning starter from a year ago. He started all 26 games, averaging 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Cool also had 20 steals and 33 assists while shooting 33.7 percent (30-of-89) from 3-point range. Cool will be joined in the backcourt by Kevin Kaerwer. Kaerwer, a junior who played in all 26 games last year, averaged 6.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. Central head coach Craig Douma says, Our team is excited about the opportunity we have this year. We have set high goals for ourselves and hope to be very competitive in the Iowa Conference. The conference will be very competitive night-in/night-out, and each team will have to bring their best every game.

Coe College Kohawks

19-8 overall, 12-4 IIAC (Champions)
Head Coach: Bryan Martin (1st season at COE; 0-0 overall) IIAC Titles (last): 2 (2012) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 0 Starters returning/lost 4 / 1 Letterwinners returning/lost 11 / 4 All-IIAC players returning 3 (Mataloni, 12-MVP, 11-1st; Wirth & Light, 12-2nd) Honorable mention returning 0

Coe returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from last seasons 19-8 squad that won the programs first outright IIAC title with a 12-4 mark in league play. The Kohawks, who were the leagues top 3-point shooting team in 2011-12, will be led by guards David Mataloni and Andrew Wirth. Mataloni, a senior and the defending conference MVP, ranked third among all IIAC players in scoring with a 15.9 point-pergame average. He also led all players in free throw percentage (91-of-107; 85.0 percent) and steals (42). Mataloni also ranked ninth in 3pointers made at 1.59 per game. Wirth, a junior named to the All-IIAC second team last seasons, started all 27 games a year ago and ranked only behind Mataloni on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game. His free throw percentage of 86.5 percent was actually better, but that was accomplished on half as many attempts as Mataloni (45-of-52). Wirth ranked sixth among all IIAC players in 3-point field-goal percentage (40.1 percent) and fourth in 3pointers made (2.41 per game). Senior forward Nathan Joens will help spread things out on the perimeter. He led all IIAC players in 3-point field goal percentage last season (30-of-66; 45.5 percent). Senior forward Seth Light, another second team all-league pick in 2012, represents Coes interior presence. Light played in 25 games last season, starting 24, and averaged 11.0 points per game while hauling in a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game. He ranked seventh among IIAC players in rebounding and field goal percentage (52.2 percent), ninth in blocked shots (18) and 12th in free throw percentage (73.0 percent). Coe head coach Bryan Martin says, We will rely heavily on the leadership of our four seniors. With six of our first seven games on the road, we will learn a lot about ourselves in a hurry. We believe our nonconference games will prepare us for the rigors of what promises to be a very balanced Iowa Conference league race.

University of Dubuque Spartans

17-9 overall, 11-5 IIAC (tie-second)
Head Coach: Robbie Sieverding (6th season at DBQ; 80-53 overall [5 years]) IIAC Titles (last): 7 (1990) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 0 Starters returning/lost 3 / 2 Letterwinners returning/lost 6 / 2 All-IIAC players returning 0 Honorable mention returning 2 (Frazier-12, Michaelis-12)

Dubuque returns three starters and six letterwinners from last years 17-9 team that finished tied for second in the league with an 11-5 mark. The Spartans return three of their top five scorers from last season, including a pair who each averaged over 13.0 points per game. Junior forward Mitch Michaelis takes the honors as the squads top returning scorer for the second straight year. He averaged 13.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 26 games, shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 81.3 from the free throw line. He ranked ninth among IIAC players in scoring, seventh in field goal percentage (100-of-123; 81.3 percent) and 13th in assists (2.04 apg). Michaelis received honorable mention from the leagues coaches a year ago, as did junior guard Chris Frazier. Frazier averaged 13.0 points and 3.4 rebounds, shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from behind the arc and 89.2 percent in limited chances at the free throw line. He ranked third among IIAC players in 3-pointers made (66), seventh in 3-point field goal percentage and 10th in both scoring and field goal percentage. Senior center Derek Griffin is the Spartans other returning starter. Griffin played in all 26 games last year, starting 22. He averaged 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 53.6 percent from the field. He will be joined in the frontcourt by senior forward Jordan Townsend. Townsend started two of the 25 games he appeared in last season, averaging 5.2 points and 3.0 boards per contest. He hit at a 44.5 percent (49-of-110) clip from the floor and was 11-of-30 from 3-point range. Dubuque head coach Robbie Sieverding says, Our team is looking forward to what should be a very competitive conference season once again. With a strong returning class and a solid group of newcomers we hope to compete at a high level.

Loras College Duhawks

7-18 overall, 4-12 IIAC (eighth)
Head Coach: Greg Gorton (6th season at LOR; 71-61 overall [5 years]) IIAC Titles (last): 6 (2007) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 2 (2008) Starters returning/lost 1 / 4 Letterwinners returning/lost 15 / 6 All-IIAC players returning 1 (Mooney, 10-2nd) Honorable mention returning 0

Loras returns 15 letterwinners but only one starter from last seasons 7-18 squad that finished eighth in the Conference with a 4-12 record. Leading the Duhawks will be senior point guard Connor Mooney. Mooney, a second-team all-conference pick in 2010, hopes to rebound from an injury that sidelined him after just seven games last season. He was averaging 11.6 points and 2.3 rebounds at the time of his injury, leading the team in scoring and minutes played. Despite his limited schedule, he finished tied for fifth on the team in assists with 22. Also back and expected to contribute are a couple of juniors center Ryan Coon and wing player Alex Cline. Coon played in all 25 games, starting five. He averaged 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game. He shot 44.8 percent (43-of-96) from the field. Cline played in 24 games with two starts, averaging 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in 9.6 points per game. Most of Clines points came from behind the 3point line where he finished 10-of-32, a 31.3 percent clip. He tied for fifth on the team in 3-pointers made. Loras head coach Greg Gorton says, The Loras College Duhawks will have a young and talented team in 2012-2013. We expect the Iowa Conference to be strong and very competitive.

Luther College Norse

17-9 overall, 10-6 IIAC (tie-fourth)
Head Coach: Mark Franzen (7th season at LUT [67-85]; 9th overall [90-114]) IIAC Titles (last): 8 (2011) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 1 (2011) Starters returning/lost 3 / 2 Letter winners returning/lost 9 / 5 All-IIAC players returning 2 (Androus, 2nd-12; Wedemeier, 2nd-11, DPOY-12) Honorable mention returning 0

Luther returns two starters and nine letter winners from last years 17-9 team that went 10-6 in league play to finish in a tie for fourth place. Leading the Norse will be junior forward John Androus, a second-team all-IIAC pick last season. Starting all 26 games last season, Androus averaged 11.2 points and 7.0 rebounds, ranking 18th among IIAC players in scoring and sixth in rebounding. He also ranked second among all league players in field goal percentage at 57.6 percent (95-of-165) and steals (40 overall; 1.54 per game). In league play, his scoring output rose to 11.8 points per game, ranking 14th in the league. Androus also led the IIAC in shooting at 57.8 percent (63-of-109), tied for fourth in steals (21; 1.31 per game) and was 14th in free throw percentage (72.6 percent; 61-of-84). Senior center Tyler Wedemeier is the other returning starter for Luther. Wedemeier, a 2011 second team all-league pick and the 2012 Iowa Conference Defensive Player of the Year, ranked third on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game. He was also third among IIAC players in rebounds at 7.5 boards per game while leading the league in blocks with 59 an average of 2.27 per contest. Wedemeier also proved himself as one of the more accurate shooters in the conference, ranking fifth in field goal percentage at 54.3 percent (94-of-173). Joining Androus and Wedemeier in the front court will be senior forward Zach Matos-Pritchard. Matos-Pritchard played in all 26 games last season, starting eight in place of Wedemeier. He averaged 7.7 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting (87-of-190) and pulled down 3.1 rebounds per outing. Junior point guard Michael Crocker appeared in 24 games with four starts, averaging 6.2 points and 23.4 minutes of play. He tied for second on the team in assists (46) and third in 3-pointers made (25). He hit from downtown at a 30.1 percent clip (25-of-83) and had the teams top free throw percentage at 73.0 percent (27-of-37)l Luther head coach Mark Franzen says, We return three starters from 2011-12. This group has done a good job in the preseason and our guard position is developing. The key for us to move forward this year is finding depth at each position. The IIAC has had a different regular season champion in each of the last four years. How the other teams in the league replace their graduation losses will be key, as Coe returns some very skilled players in their starting line-up.

Simpson College Storm

12-14 overall, 8-8 IIAC (sixth)
Head Coach: Charles Zanders (3rd season at SIM; 24-29 overall [2 years]) IIAC Titles (last): 5 (1998) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): none Starters returning/lost 3 / 2 Letterwinners returning/lost 10 / 4 All-IIAC players returning 0 Honorable mention returning 1 (Knox-11)

Simpson returns three starters and 10 letterwinners from last seasons 12-14 team that finished sixth in the league with an 8-8 record. The Storm will need to find a way to replace their top three scorers from a year ago a group that accounted for 57.1 percent of the teams total offensive output. Leading Simpson will be three-year letter winner Elijah Knox from the point guard position. Knox averaged 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds last season and registered team-highs with 89 assists and 37 steals. He ranked 25th among IIAC players in scoring, but was fourth in both assists per game (3.42 apg) and steals per game (1.42 per game) as well as assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.29). Also, as a 6-3 guard, Knox blocked 17 shots to rank 10th among IIAC players in that category. Junior small forward Drew Bentley played in all 26 games last season, starting 12 of the squads final 13 contests, and averaged 8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Bentley proved to be a reliable option from outside the arc, draining 31.7 percent of his 3-point attempts (40-of126). He ranked 11th among IIAC players in 3-pointers made (1.54 3FG/game). Sophomore power forward A.J. Arrington should also make an impact after transferring to Simpson at the semester break last season. He appeared in 16 games a year ago, making three starts, and averaged 3.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Arrington had maybe his best day to this point in his short Simpson career on Feb. 1 against eventual conference champion Coe when he came off the bench to score 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 13 minutes. Simpson head coach Charles Zanders says, The Storm men have worked extremely hard during the preseason. We fell short of some team goals last season and have used those shortfalls to motivate this years team

Wartburg College Knights

11-14 overall, 5-11 IIAC (seventh)
Head Coach: Dick Peth IIAC Titles (last): 21 (2006) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 1 (2001) Starters returning/lost 2 / 3 Letterwinners returning/lost 11 / 7 All-IIAC players returning 0 Honorable mention returning 0

Wartburg returns two starters and 11 letterwinners from last seasons 11-14 team that finished seventh in the league with a 5-11 record. Gone from the Knights lineup is center Jordan Sathoff the leagues top scorer a year ago but Wartburg returns a wealth of experience. Senior point guard Mitchell Murphy started all 25 games a year ago, averaging 7.8 points per game to rank second on the team. He also averaged 3.96 assists per game to lead all IIAC players for the second time in three years and ranked sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.27). In league play, Murphy averaged 8.8 points and a league-leading 3.94 assists per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio also improved to +1.37 and ranked fourth in the league. Junior post player Eddie Diemer added 7.1 points per game and ranked second on the team with a 5.1 rebound-per-game average. He also led the team and ranked third among IIAC players with 31 blocks while shooting 49.3 percent from the field (72-of-146). Junior guard Thomas Perkins, a two-year letter winner, played in all 25 games last year with four starts and ranked fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 6.4 points per game. Perkins shot 40.2 percent (49-of-122) from the field overall but hit at a 37.0-percent (27-of-73) clip from 3point range. Senior wing Drew Crawford should also help the Knights perimeter offense. He averaged only 4.6 points per game but proved himself as one of the IIACs top 3-point threats after hitting 42.9 percent (24-of-56) of his attempts from behind the arc. His 3-point field goal percentage ranked second among league players. Wartburg head coach Dick Peth says, We look forward to competing in the highly competitive IIAC this season. Our 10 returning lettermen have done a great job of providing leadership to our new cast of players. The scrimmages and exhibition game will be a great barometer for where we are to begin the season.

~~~ www.iowaconference.com ~~~