The 2021 basketball season was full of questions. With COVID still looming over everyone the season was a big question mark at the start. Through all the concerns and questions though, both the men’s basketball team at DMACC made the most of it.
The men’s team started off hot and kept it rolling throughout their season. With a final record of 17-5 the men’s team was ranked number 5 or better in the national rankings for almost the whole year. An early exit in the conference tournament was a bit of a let down, but they clinched their spot in the NJCAA DII tournament with a regular season conference championship title, holding the number 2 overall seed in the tournament.
The men’s team started off with five guys being given all-region team honors, along with player and coach of the year. Willie Guy, a sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, brought in the honor of Player of the Year after an amazing season. Guy led the Bears in many stat categories, leading them in scoring, assists, and steals. With an average of 12.5 points and six assists he was a huge factor on the offensive side of the ball. Shooting 45 percent from the field and an amazing 41 percent from behind the arc, he was a scoring machine.
Guy and sophomore Ryan Schmitt from Van Meter, Iowa, also had all-region first team recognition. Schmitt led the Bears in rebounds all year averaging 6.4 rebounds a game. Schmitt also threw back an impressive 2.5 shots blocked a game, making himself a presence defensively game in and game out.
Sophomore Zach Hobbs of Mesa, Arizona, was given the honor of second team all-conference averaging 11 points a game and a 41.5 shooting percentage from three, the team’s second best mark from out there.
Sophomores Mark Bradshaw from Chester, Pennsylvania, and Christian Haffner of Gresham, Wisconsin, both earned honorable mentions. Bradshaw had an impressive 12 points a game all year, and Haffner led the team in three point percentage with a hot hand from deep with 45 percent shooting out there.
Head coach Brett Putz coached the team to a 17-5 regular season record, second consecutive regular season championship, and a number 1 national ranking in just his first season as head coach, winning him the Region XI Coach of the Year.
Another great year of basketball by the DMACC men’s team this year, and they showed that not only through records, but also awards. If you would like to watch the men compete in the tournament this year you can watch it virtually on the NJCAA website between April 20 to 24. Go Bears!