West Burlington, IA-
The ICCAC Division I Men's Basketball All-Region team was announced on Tuesday.
The Indian Hills Warriors led all selections with five players spread across the First, Second and Honorable Mention. The Warriors won their 13th straight regular season title and third straight Region XI Tournament title in 2021. They were represented by Tyem Freeman and Chris Payton on First Team.
Freeman, the 2021 ICCAC Division I Men's Basketball Player of the Year, led Indian Hills in scoring at 18.6 points per game. That number ranked third of all ICCAC players and second among Division I.
He had nine games with 20 or more points and twice scored over 30. He scored in double figures in 21 of 24 games this season while also grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game.
For the second year in a row, Payton was selected to First Team All-Region. After averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds in his freshman season, Payton upped both of those to 12 and 10 in 2021. Payton led the ICCAC in rebounding and was second in both field goal percentage (59.5) and blocks (47).
Hank Plona was named the 2021 Coach of the Year after leading the Warriors to a record of 21-3. The Warriors reached the District title game for the seventh time in eight years. For the first time since 2013, Indian Hills is not a part of the Division I National Tournament.
Region runner-up Southeastern placed two players on the five-member first team. Koby Issac was the leading vote getter for the Blackhawks. The freshman from Atlanta, Ga. averaged 11.7 points per game to lead a balanced SCC team.
Issac was top 10 in three-point shooting with 47 made threes this season.
Fellow guard Jesiah West was the Blackhawks second representative on First Team. West averaged 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, good for sixth among all ICCAC players during ICCAC competition. An all-around player, West excelled on the defensive end accumulating 31 steals (9th) and 33 blocks (3rd).
Marshalltown's David Roberts concluded the 2021 First Team selections. A freshman, Robert helped power the Tiger as their second leading scorer at 14.5 points per game. He was a consistent scorer, reaching double digits in 15 of 18 contests.
ICCAC Division I All-Region selections were voted by the coaches. Each coach voted for 10 players, none of their own, with the top five vote getters receiving First Team. The next five earned Second Team and any other player receiving a vote earned Honorable Mention.
First Team All-Region
|
# |
Player |
College |
Position |
Year |
|
5 |
Tyem Freeman |
Indian Hills |
G |
RFr. |
|
21 |
Chris Payton |
Indian Hills |
F |
So. |
|
3 |
David Roberts |
Marshalltown |
G |
Fr. |
|
1 |
Southeastern |
G |
Fr. |
|
|
12 |
Southeastern |
F |
So. |
Second Team All-Region
|
# |
Player |
College |
Pos. |
Year |
|
3 |
Taj Anderson |
Indian Hills |
G |
Fr. |
|
11 |
Curtis Jones |
Indian Hills |
PG |
Fr. |
|
5 |
Deon'ta Lagway |
Marshalltown |
G |
So. |
|
10 |
Michael Anderson |
Northeast |
G |
So. |
|
3 |
Camry Weston |
Southeastern |
G |
So. |
Honorable Mention All- Region
|
# |
Player |
College |
Pos. |
Year |
|
2 |
Tyrese Nickelson |
Indian Hills |
G |
So. |
|
1 |
Diablo Stewart |
Marshalltown |
F |
Fr. |
|
43 |
Ben Tew |
Northeast |
C |
So. |
|
14 |
Evan Decker |
Northeast |
G |
Fr. |
|
32 |
Jared Lopez |
Northeast |
G |
Fr. |
|
2 |
Southeastern |
G |
So. |
Player of the Year: Tyem Freeman, Indian Hills
Coach of the Year: Hank Plona, Indian Hills
