CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- The 2016-17 All-Iowa Conference Men's Basketball Team as voted by the league's head coaches: 

2016-2017 All-Iowa Conference Men's Basketball
Most Valuable Player - Cooper Cook, So., Nebraska Wesleyan
Defensive Player of the Year - David Jeffries, Jr., Buena Vista
Coach of the Year - Dale Wellman, Nebraska Wesleyan
Most Valuable Player	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
Cooper Cook	Nebraska Wesleyan	So.	F	Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley North
First Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
Kennedy Drey @ $	Buena Vista	Sr.	F	Early, Iowa / Storm Lake St. Mary's
Colby Taylor ! % ~	Central	Sr.	F	Creston, Iowa / Creston
Jake Weber @	Dubuque	Sr.	F	Dubuque, Iowa / Dubuque Hempstead
Ryan DiCanio	Loras	So.	G	Bartlett, Ill. / Bartlett
Nate Schimonitz	Nebraska Wesleyan	Fr.	G	Omaha, Neb. / Omaha Creighton Prep
Sam Amsbaugh !	Simpson	Jr.	F	Sheffield, Iowa / West Fork
Jordan Cannon ! $	Wartburg	Sr.	F	Bolingbrook, Ill. / Downers Grove South
Second Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
Thomas Wisecup	Buena Vista	Jr.	G	Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff
Kyle Smith	Central	Jr.	F	Ionia, Iowa / New Hampton
Marshall Shedeck @	Coe	Sr.	F	Oxford Junction, Iowa / North Cedar
Jamaree Atwater	Dubuque	Jr.	F	Moline, Ill. / Moline
Justin VanWambeke !	Loras	Sr.	G	Machesney Park, Ill. / Harlem
Deion Wells-Ross	Nebraska Wesleyan	Jr.	F	Omaha, Neb. / Midland University
Nick Webber @ ^	Wartburg	Sr.	F	Peosta, Iowa / Western Dubuque
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
David Jeffries	Buena Vista	Jr.	G	North Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy
Pete Walker @	Central	Sr.	G	Red Oak, Iowa / Red Oak
Demond George	Loras	So.	G	Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley
Austin Turner	Simpson	Sr.	G	San Antonio, Texas / Boerne-Champion
Jaran Sabus	Wartburg	So.	G	Urbandale, Iowa / Urbandale
Nate Woeste #	Wartburg	Jr.	F	Atkins, Iowa / Benton Community
Previous Honors
! - 2015-16 First Team All-Conference
@ - 2015-16 Second Team All-Conference
# - 2015-16 Honorable Mention
$ - 2014-15 First Team All-Conference
% - 2014-15 Second Team All-Conference
^ - 2014-15 Honorable Mention
& - 2013-14 First Team All-Conference
*- 2013-14 Second Team All-Conference
~ - 2013-14 Honorable Mention

NOTE: The MVP shall have standing as an All-Conference player but is not a member of the first or second team.
NOTE: The defensive player of the year is not honored as All-Conference unless selected to the first or second team by the coaches

The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today its major men's basketball awards and the 15-member All-Iowa Conference team for the 2016-17 season. Nebraska Wesleyan sophomore forward Cooper Cook (So., Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley North) has been selected as the IIAC Most Valuable Player. Defensively, Buena Vista University junior guard David Jeffries (Jr., North Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) has been named the IIAC Defensive Player of the Year. Nebraska Wesleyan University head coach Dale Wellman earned the honor of IIAC men's basketball Coach of the Year and the Iowa Conference regular season Co-championship at 11-5 in league play and 18-8 overall.

Cook was an impact player for the Prairie Wolves this season, shooting a team high 44.9% from the field and 44.8% from behind the arch through 26 games. In league action, his shooting was even more laser like, averaging 51.8% from the field and 49.1% from three-point land. Cook's 3.3 average 3-point field goals made per game was first in the conference. He averaged 18.2 points per game (ppg), 6.4 rebounds per game (rpg), in helping Nebraska Wesleyan complete IIAC play at 11-5. He was the conference’s Player of the Week two times this season, including the final week of the regular season where the Prairie Wolves clinched a share of the 2016-17 IIAC Regular Season Championship. Cook was also honored by CoSIDA as a second team Academic All-American this season with a 4.00 GPA as an accounting major.

Jeffries led the conference with 35 steals for an average of 2.2 per game. Overall, he has totaled 51 steals this season to rank 81st in NCAA Division III. Jeffries had a conference high six steals on December 3, 2016, in what would turn out to be a key conference matchup against Nebraska Wesleyan. Jeffries shot a league leading field goal percentage with 61.3%. In conference action, he averaged 14.8ppg, 4.4rpg, and 2.3 assists per game (apg). Overall this season he averaged 13.1ppg, 4.6rpg, 2.4apg, and 2.0 steals per game. 
 
In Wellman's third year at the helm of the Prairie Wolves men's basketball program and first year competing in the Iowa Conference, he captured a share of the 2016-17 Iowa Conference regular season title. Wellman led Nebraska Wesleyan to an 18-8 overall record and 11-5 in conference play. Nebraska Wesleyan led the conference in scoring offense 88.7ppg. The Prairie Wolves' also controlled the boards in conference play with a league best 12.9 offensive rebounds per game and a rebounding offense that average 41.1rpg. Wellman's Prairie Wolves ranked second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense allowing only 33.3%, and steals with 8.25 per game. 
 
The All-Iowa Conference first team highlighted players from seven of the league's nine schools. Kennedy Drey (Sr., Early, Iowa / Storm Lake St. Mary's) became a three-time All-Iowa Conference honoree and a two-time first team selection (2015-16 second team, 2014-15 first team). Drey was the leagues' fifth leading scorer averaging 17.1ppg and second in rebounds per game with 11.1. Central College's Colby Taylor (Sr., Creston, Iowa / Creston) became a three-time all-conference selection (2015-16 first team, 2014-15 second team) this year. Taylor was second in the conference with 19.1ppg. He also shot 88.9% from the free throw line to rank second in the conference. University of Dubuque's Jake Weber (Sr., Dubuque, Iowa / Dubuque Hempstead) earned his second all-conference honor (2015-16 second team) this year. Weber was the league's leading rebounder with 12.6rpg and second in the conference with a 53.3% field goal percentage. Ryan DiCanio (So., Bartlett, Ill. / Bartlett) was the conference's sixth leading scorer, averaging 16.1ppg, and fourth in assists per game with 3.4. Nebraska Wesleyan's Nate Schimonitz (Fr., Omaha, Neb. / Omaha Creighton Prep) was the lone freshman to earn all-conference honors. Schimonitz was the conferences number one scorer with 20.8ppg. He became the leading scorer shooting 46.2% from the field. Simpson's Sam Amsbaugh (Jr., Sheffield, Iowa / West Fork) is now a two time first team selection (2015-16 first team). Amsbaugh averaged 15.8ppg, 5.4rpg, and shot 47.8% from the field. Jordan Cannon (Sr., Bolingbrook, Ill. / Downers Grove South) of Wartburg College has now received first team all-conference for three consecutive years. Cannon averaged 15.4ppg, and shot 45.5% from the field to help Wartburg capture the Iowa Conference tournament title and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament. 
  
The 15-member team includes eight earning at least their second all-conference honor, including one three-time first team honoree and two two-time first team honorees. Cannon of Wartburg became a three-time first team selection (First Team: 2016-17, 2015-16, 2014-15). Buena Vista's Drey collected his third all-conference honor (First Team: 2016-17, 2014-15; Second Team: 2015-16). Central's Taylor was selected to the all-conference team for the third time (First Team: 2016-17, 2015-16; Second Team: 2014-15). Dubuque's Weber earns his second award (First Team: 2016-17, Second Team: 2015-16). Simpson's Amsbaugh is now a two-time first team honoree (First Team: 2016-17, 2015-16). Marshall Shedeck (Sr., Oxford Junction, Iowa / North Cedar) of Coe College was awarded all-conference for the second time (Second Team: 2016-17, 2015-16). Wartburg's Nick Webber (Sr., Peosta, Iowa / Western Dubuque) was picked by the coaches for the second year in a row (Second Team: 2016-17, 2015-16). Central's Pete Walker (Sr, Red Oak, Iowa / Red Oak) was selected honorable mention this season while also earning second team accolades in 2015-16. 
 

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