Four Scot Cagers Earn All-Conference Honors

Tom Port

Kyle Witucky

» 2004-05 All-NCAC Team

For the second year in a row, four College of Wooster men’s basketball players were voted on to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference Team, more than any other team in the league, highlighted by juniors Tom Port (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) and Kyle Witucky (Zanesville, Ohio / Zanesville) each being tabbed with first-team honors. The NCAC office announced its award winners on Tuesday.

Also for the Fighting Scots, who are 26-2 and won the 2004-05 conference championship, senior center Matt Schlingman (Ashland, Ohio / Ashland) was named second-team all-league and sophomore forward Tim Vandervaart (North Canton, Ohio / Hoover) received honorable mention.

Port, a member of the All-NCAC Second Team last year, leads Wooster’s balanced offense at a rate of 13.5 points per game, and is tied for a team-high in assists with 99 and second in rebounding (6.3 rpg). In the conference, the 6-5, 215-pound forward’s 12th in scoring and among the top-10 in rebounding, assists (3.54 per game), 3-pointers made (1.79 per game), and blocked shots (0.93 per game), while spending over 30 minutes on the court per game (30.7).

Witucky, who received honorable mention on last season’s all-league team, averages a shade under 10 points (9.7 ppg) and is the NCAC’s top 3-point shooter, in terms of percentage (.467). He also ranks among the top-10 in assists (3.54 per game), 3-pointers made (2.04 per game), and minutes played (30.8 per game). A three-year starter at point guard, Witucky has made a 3-pointer in 16-straight games, while connecting on 22-of-36 such attempts (.611) during one recent red-hot stretch.

Schlingman, now a two-time all-conference player after landing honorable mention status in 2003-04, is the Scots’ second-leading scorer (12.0 ppg) and well on pace to set a team record for field-goal percentage in a season (.692). The 6-7, 220-pound center tops that category in the NCAC as well as being 14th in scoring and fourth in blocks (0.96 per game). Schlingman recently scored his 1,000th career point, as he’s currently the 25th leading scorer in school history (1,024), and he’s averaged 14.8 points over the last 11 games.

Vandervaart has been one of the most improved players across the conference, as he’s gone from seeing limited action as a freshman to all-league-caliber. The 6-6, 200-pound power forward moved into the starting lineup midway through the year and is averaging 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. He ranks sixth in the league in rebounding, third in blocked shots (1.04 per game), and eighth in steals (1.32 per game). Vandervaart, who had three double-doubles during one stretch (Jan. 29-Feb. 5), is the team leader in all three of those categories, to go with a .635 field-goal percentage and .724 free throw percentage.

Wooster, which dropped four spots to No. 5 in this week’s D3Hoops.com national poll after losing in the NCAC Tournament finals to Wittenberg University 61-59, will host an NCAA Div. III Tournament opening-round game Thursday (March 3) against fellow northeast Ohio school Baldwin-Wallace College (20-8) at 7 p.m. The winner will play at Albion (Mich.) College (24-3) on Saturday (March 5) at 7 p.m.