McLean County Times

Following a successful regular season, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team secured four spots on the all-conference teams in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). The announcement was made on February 19, with IWU leading the league in selections.

Junior Nick Roper from St. Louis and senior Luke Yoder from Normal were named to the First Team All-CCIW. Juniors Harrison Wilmsen and Hakim Williams earned Second Team honors. Additionally, Ron Rose was recognized as CCIW Coach of the Year for the fifth time.

Roper had an impressive junior year after missing much of his sophomore season due to injury. He averaged 14.3 points per game during CCIW play, shooting 51.5 percent from the field, and collected 5.8 rebounds per game. Roper also excelled in three-point shooting with a conversion rate of 36.4 percent.

Yoder returned to Bloomington-Normal this season and achieved First Team All-CCIW status for the first time after being a second team member in 2022. He scored an average of 11.3 points per game and ranked fourth in assists within the conference with an average of 3.8 per game.

Wilmsen contributed significantly as one of four players averaging double figures in scoring for IWU, with an average of 10.8 points per game.

Williams stood out as a versatile player for IWU, securing a Second Team All-CCIW spot by contributing across various aspects such as rebounding and defense.

Illinois Wesleyan will host both semifinal and championship games for the CCIW Tournament scheduled for February 23-24.

Ron Rose received recognition as CCIW Coach of the Year while Jonathan Zapinski from Elmhurst was awarded Fred Young CCIW Most Outstanding Student-Athlete. Ryan Johnson from Carthage earned CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year honors.

The complete list includes Tyler Knuth (Augustana), Fillip Bulatovic (Carthage), Antuan Nesbitt (Carthage), John Ittounas (Elmhurst), Jonathan Zapinski (Elmhurst), Nick Roper (Illinois Wesleyan), Luke Yoder (Illinois Wesleyan), Kolden Vanlandingham (North Park) among others on All-CCIW teams, with certain players receiving unanimous selection acknowledgment.