November 28
Chris Braier - Forward - Lawrence University
Senior - Wauwatosa, Wis./East
Braier led the Vikings to a 2-0 record last week, including an 82-75 overtime victory over UWOshkosh, the nation’s No. 2 team, on Tuesday. Braier averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds in the two contests while shooting 51.4 percent (18-35) from the floor. Braier scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had six assists in the upset of Oshkosh. The 6-4 senior forward added 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in Lawrence’s 74-53 win over MSOE on Saturday. Tuesday’s victory was Lawrence’s third straight over Oshkosh and also marked the highest-ranked opponent the Vikings have ever defeated.
December 5
Nathan Drury - Guard - Carroll College
Junior - Littleton, Col./Littleton
Drury paced the Pioneers to a 3-0 mark last week that included a 75-65 win over #13 UW-Whitewater and a pair of conference victories. Drury started the week by netting a game-high 26 points in the upset over Whitewater. The junior guard’s stellar play continued into the weekend, as he combined for 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in MWC road victories over Knox (85-58) and Lake Forest (76-71). Drury tallied 30 points and six rebounds against Knox, including 7-12 shooting from three-point range, before closing out the week with 17 points and five assists against Lake Forest. Drury ranks second in the conference in scoring (22.0 ppg) and is also among the league’s best in steals per game (2.00).
December 12
Chris Hebeler - Guard - Monmouth College
Senior - Fulton, Ill./Fulton
Hebeler put the Fighting Scots back on the winning track against Aurora on Wednesday with one of the best long-distance shooting displays in school history. Hebeler poured in a career high 38 points during the 87-80 victory, including 12-17
shooting from three-point distance. Hebeler’s dozen treys set a new single-game school record for three-pointers made and paced the Scots to 20 three-pointers total, a single-game team record. The senior guard made five straight long balls on two separate occasions during the contest en route to the highest point total in the MWC this season. Hebeler, who only committed one turnover in 33 minutes of action, also added four rebounds, three assists and one steal in the contest. His performance ranked 8th all-time on the Scots honor roll for points in a game.
January 3
Chris Braier - Forward - Lawrence University
Senior - Wauwatosa, Wis./East
Braier averaged 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds at the Surf City Classic in Costa Mesa Calif., leading Lawrence to a 2-0 mark in tourney action. Braier scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 17 minutes of action in the Vikings 92-39 win over Goucher on Thursday. The senior forward followed that performance with 19 tallies and 13 boards in a 64-59 win over NAIA DI tourney host Vanguard. Braier now has 1,289 points for his career and moved past Adam LaVoy (1,273) for third place on Lawrence’s career scoring list in the win over Vanguard. Braier is being honored with Player of the Week accolades for the second time this season.
January 10
Keven Bradley - Guard - Lawrence University
Senior - Omro, Wis./Omro
Bradley broke his previous career-high and nearly doubled his season scoring average (12.0 ppg) in the final 7:52 of the Vikings 83-75 conference victory over Ripon on Saturday. Bradley closed the game by scoring the Vikings last 20 points
en route to a career-high 33 tallies. The senior guard was a perfect 8-8 shooting from the field, including 5-5 from three-point range and 12-15 from the free throw line. He also added two rebounds, an assist and a steal, while only committing one turnover in 28 minutes of action. Bradley’s performance shattered his previous career-high (19) for scoring and
helped No. 6 Lawrence improve to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in MWC action this season.
January 16
John Grotberg - Guard - Grinnell College
Freshman - Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer
Grotberg continued to score at a torrid pace on the road last week, averaging 36 points per game as the Pioneers won two of three games in conference action. Grotberg started his week by scoring 12 points in overtime, capping a careerhigh 45-point performance, to lead the Pioneers to a 128-125 victory over Monmouth. Grotberg then posted point totals of 31 and 32 points, respectively, in a loss to unbeaten Lawrence (125-110) and a victory over St. Norbert (115-12). The freshman guard also averaged 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals for the Pioneers last week. Grotberg entered
the week ranked third in Division III in scoring and has been Grinnell’s high-scorer in 11 of its 12 games this season.
January 23
Jason Maclin - Forward - Knox College
Junior - Chicago, Ill./Kenwood Academy
Maclin guided Knox to a 2-0 record on the road last week and has helped the Prairie Fire to victories in five of their last six contests. Maclin started off his week with 27 points, including a clutch three-pointer in overtime, and eight rebounds during an 80-79 OT victory over rival Monmouth. The 6-5 forward added 23 points, four boards and two assists in a 76-63 win at Illinois College on Saturday. Maclin currently ranks second in the MWC in scoring (20.3 ppg) and fourth in three-point percentage (.449%). The Prairie Fire have won three straight, including four of five on the road, to take over fourth place in the MWC.
January 30
Josh Hinz - Forward - Beloit College
Senior - Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson
Hinz became Beloit’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder last week, as he led the Bucs back into the thick of the MWC tourney race with three straight victories. Hinz netted 23 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s 63-58 victory over St. Norbert, 29 points and 10 boards in a 60-57 win Friday at Lake Forest and 27 tallies in a 73-69 triumph at Knox on Saturday. Hinz has now scored 1,776 career points and pulled down 737 career rebounds. His point total surpasses 1951 graduate and 1952 U.S. Olympian Ron Bontemps (1,770 points), whose scoring record stood for 55 years, while his rebounding mark betters 2002 grad Henry Grant (733). The 6-6 senior forward, who was a D3hoops.com All-American last season, tied the rebounding record Friday at Lake Forest, and set both records Saturday at Knox.
February 6
Josh Hinz - Forward - Beloit College
Senior - Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson
Hinz tied an NCAA Division III national record and broke two Beloit records in Saturday’s 120-112 victory over Grinnell that kept the Bucs MWC tourney hopes alive. Hinz grabbed 36 rebounds in the contest, tying the NCAA DIII single-game record and shattering the Beloit record by 16 boards. The 6-6 senior also scored a Flood Arena record 50 points in the game, shooting 18-27 from the field and 14-19 from the free throw line. The 2004-05 D3hoops.com All-American tallied game-highs in points (16) and rebounds (8) in the Bucs 62-60 loss to Monmouth on Friday. Hinz, who became Beloit’s all-time leader in scoring and rebounding last week, is the MWC Performer of the Week for the second consecutive week.
February 13
Brian Schmitting - Center - Ripon College
Senior - Hilbert, Wis./Hilbert
The Red Hawks dropped contests to St. Norbert (73-64) and No. 22 Carroll (94-87) last week, but Schmitting continued to display the efficiency that has made him the NCAA Division III leader in field-goal percentage for the past five weeks.
Schmitting was a perfect 16-16 from the floor in the two contests, going 8-8 in each game. The 6-6 junior center tallied 20 points and eight rebounds against the Green Knights, before posting 19 points and eight boards against the Pioneers. Schmitting, who ranks 10th in the MWC scoring (14.4 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.7), has watched his field-goal percentage rise to 75.3 percent after last week’s performances. No player at any level of NCAA men’s basketball is shooting at a higher percentage this season.
February 20
Franklyn Beckford - Forward - Lake Forest College
Senior - Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville
Beckford scored 33 points in Lake Forest’s 110-93 victory over Grinnell on Saturday. He shot 14-15 from the fl oor in the contest with his only miss coming on the fi rst and only three-point field goal attempt of his career. By connecting on each of his fi rst 14 shots, the 6-4 senior forward established a new NCAA record with 26 consecutive field goals made in a season. His streak also included his fi nal six shot attempts against Illinois College on Feb. 8 (23 points) and his 6-6 shooting performance at Monmouth on Feb. 11 (13 points). Beckford also set school records for field goal percentage in a season (.674) and career (.633).