Duax and Gard receive WIAC's top honors; five others selected for All-WIAC Team
Madison, Wis. - The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced Wednesday afternoon that Robert Duax and head coach Jeff Gard have been named the conference’s Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.
Madison, Wis. - The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced Wednesday afternoon that Robert Duax and head coach Jeff Gard have been named the conference's Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. Five other Pioneers join Duax and Gard as All-WIAC selections.
"These honors are a tribute to the teams' hard work and commitment to each other," said Gard. "All year long this group has been unselfish and willing to do what was needed on a day to day basis."
Duax receives the conference's top honor after averaging 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. On the season he shot over 51 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep.
A native of nearby Dubuque, Iowa, Duax rarely put up huge numbers in games, although he proved he has the ability to, but rather led the Pioneers with his consistency and versatility. In 11 of 14 conference games this season he scored between 10 and 19 points, and was held to single digit scoring just once. Averaging 10.9 field goal attempts per game, Duax shot under 40 percent in a game just four times all season.
The junior is also the second tallest player in the Pioneers' regular rotation at 6-4, and was presented with the opportunity to play both inside and outside. He appears on the WIAC's leaderboard in nearly every statistical category including scoring (4th), free throw pct. (5th), steals (6th), field goal pct. (7th), three point pct. (t11th), blocked shots (12th), and rebounding (14th).
Duax is the Pioneers' first WIAC Player of the Year since All-American Chas Cross in 2012-13, and the ninth player in program history to receive the honor.
Joining Duax on the All-Conference team is senior Matt Oestreich,who was the top shooting guard in the WIAC this season.
Oestreich shot 55.2 percent from the field on the year, and was second in scoring for UW-Platteville at 10.9 points per game. The Marshfield, Wis. native also led the Pioneers with 2.5 assists per game, a category he has finished in the top two of all four years at Platteville. Oestreich set career highs this season in field goal pct. (55.2), three point pct. (41.2), and free throw pct. (79.0).
Receiving Honorable Mention by the WIAC were sophomore Carter Voelker and freshman Quentin Shields.
Voelker proved to be a lethal threat from deep this season as he finished fourth in the WIAC in three point percentage at 45.9 pct. He averaged 10.3 points per game and led the Pioneers in scoring five times, including a 21 point performance against Ripon. Voelker appears as a WIAC top performer in steals (9th), assists (t11th), and scoring (22nd).
Shields is the fourth Pioneer to average double digit points per game this season at 10.5. In the Pioneers' win against UW-Stevens Point on Feb. 7 he collected a career high 21 points, 17 of those coming in the second half. He finished near the top of the WIAC in field goal pct. (11th), free throw pct. (14th), and scoring (20th). Earlier this season Shields became the first freshman to earn men's basketball WIAC Athlete of the Week since 2015-2016, and is the only freshman All-WIAC selections member.
The lone big man in the Pioneers' regular rotation, junior Clay Gerds earned one of the five spots of the All-Defensive team. In the physical WIAC, Gerds grabbed 6.4 rebounds per game in conference play and defended the paint with 1.3 blocks per game. Those averages ranked fifth and second in the WIAC, respectively.
Cole Hake is the 6th and final UW-Platteville player to receive WIAC honors as he was named member of the All-Sportsmanship team. A senior from Kaukauna, Wis., Hake has appeared in 31 games for the Pioneers in his career, and he earned his first career start this year against UW-River Falls on Feb. 17.
Head coach Jeff Gard was named the conferences Coach of the Year after taking UW-Platteville from last to first place in the WIAC standings in just one season. He is the first coach to ever accomplish the feat in the history of the conference. In his ninth season at the helm of the UW-Platteville men's basketball program, this is Gard's first Coach of the Year award. It is the eighth time a Pioneers' head coach has been selected as Coach of the Year, and Gard is the first since Paul Combs in 2004-05.
"I'm thrilled for all of our players, coaches, and support staff," said Gard. "It's a great recognition for them and for the hard work they have all put in this season. These recognitions are a result of everyone's buy into the process."