2002-03 WIAC Men's Basketball
Athletes of the Week

Week of Feb. 17 - 23
Rich Melzer, Junior (Minneapolis, Minn./River Falls), Forward of UW-River Falls
Melzer helped the Falcons to a pair of league road wins in overtime to help the squad secure the No. 3 seed for the WIAC Tournament. In a 92-86 overtime win at UW-Stout on Wednesday, he scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. In a thrilling 78-72 double overtime victory at UW-Platteville on Saturday, Melzer poured in 31 points and had 13 rebounds. In the two games, he was 24-for-44 from the field and 17-for-24 from the free throw line, while adding nine steals, six blocks and four assists. His performance against the Pioneers helped him establish a new league scoring mark against WIAC adversaries. Melzer's 464 points in the 16-game conference slate this season broke UW-Superior's Jim Sevals' mark of 436 set in 1966.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Jason Larson, Senior, Guard, Sugar Land, Texas (Stephen F. Austin)
UW-La Crosse, Casey Taggatz, Junior, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Tim Dworak, Senior, Forward, Kewaunee
UW-Stevens Point, Jason Kalsow, Sophomore, Forward, Huntley, Ill.
UW-Stout, Jeff Vandenberghe, Junior, Forward, Coon Rapids, Minn.
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)

Week of Feb. 10 - 16
Josh Iserloth, Senior (Plymouth), Forward of UW-Stevens Point
Iserloth scored 39 points over two games to help the Pointers clinch their fourth consecutive WIAC championship. He scored 21 points, shooting nine-for-16 from the field in UW-Stevens Point's 75-39 win over UW-La Crosse. Iserloth had 18 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots in a 71-53 victory over UW-Whitewater on February 12. For the week, he was 15-for-30 from the field, including five-for-nine from the three-point line, and four-for-five from the free-throw line. He grabbed 10 rebounds and had five blocked shots, two assists and two steals. Iserloth becomes just the 14th player in league history to play on four men's basketball championship teams.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Dan Archambault, Sophomore, Guard, Oshkosh (West)
UW-La Crosse, Jason Scheunemann, Sophomore, Guard/Forward, Cedarburg
UW-Oshkosh, Tim Dworak, Senior, Forward, Kewaunee
UW-Platteville, Brandon Temperly, Sophomore, Forward, Hazel Green (Southwestern)
UW-River Falls, Rich Melzer, Junior, Forward, Minneapolis, Minn. (River Falls)
UW-Stout, Andy Bray, Junior, Forward, Menominee, Mich.

Week of Feb. 3 - 9
Jason Larson, Senior (Sugar Land, Texas/Stephen F. Austin), Guard of UW-Eau Claire
Larson led the Blugolds to a pair of conference victories over UW-La Crosse and UW-River Falls. In the 77-70 victory over the Falcons, he scored 33 points and tied a school record with seven three point field goals made. Larson also grabbed 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and had two assists. In the win over UW-La Crosse, he scored 25 points, including six three point field goals, dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds. In the two games, Larson totaled 58 points on 16-for-31 shooting from the field and 13-for-20 from three point range with 15 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Casey Taggatz, Junior, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Scott Sowinski, Senior, Forward, Appleton (Xavier)
UW-River Falls, Rich Melzer, Junior, Forward, Minneapolis, Minn. (River Falls)
UW-Stevens Point, Josh Iserloth, Senior, Forward, Plymouth
UW-Stout, Adam Maslowski, Freshman, Forward, Marshfield
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)

Week of Jan. 27 - Feb. 2
Rich Melzer, Junior (Minneapolis, Minn./River Falls), Forward of UW-River Falls
Melzer had monsterous performance in UW-River Falls' 81-65 victory at UW-La Crosse on January 29, as he recorded the highest point total in NCAA men's basketball this season (all divisions) with 54 points. Melzer was 20-for-27 from the field and 14-for-16 from the free throw line, while adding a season-high 16 rebounds with four assists, four blocked shots and one assist. His point total was the highest in the conference in 50 years and the fourth-highest mark in league history. Melzer's 27 field goals attempts rank eighth in conference annals, while his 20 field goals made rank third. He then had a 27-point, five-rebound performance in the Falcons' 71-63 loss to UW-Whitewater on February 1. In the two games, Melzer poured in 81 points on 30-for-44 shooting from the field (68.1 percent) and 21-for-26 from the free throw line (80.7 percent), while adding 21 rebounds, eight assists, seven blocked shots and three steals.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Ryan Wietor, Sophomore, Guard, West Bend (West)
UW-La Crosse, Casey Taggatz, Junior, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Scott Sowinski, Senior, Forward, Appleton (Xavier)
UW-Platteville, Bryan Stangel, Senior, Forward, Monroe
UW-Stevens Point, Nick Bennett, Sophomore, Forward, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Stout, Jeff Vandenberghe, Junior, Forward, Coon Rapids, Minn.
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)

Week of Jan. 20 - 26
Casey Chapman, Senior (Hartland/Arrowhead), Guard of UW-Stout
Chapman continues to come off the bench to give UW-Stout a scoring spark as the Blue Devils won two overtime road games last week to stay in a tie for first in the WIAC standings. He scored a career-high 27 points in an 88-79 win over UW-River Falls, then followed that up with 18 points in an 85-81 win at UW-Eau Claire. On the week, Chapman scored 45 points (22.5 points per game), shooting 14-for-22 (63.6 percent) from the field, including nine-for-14 (64.3 percent) from three-point range and eight-for-10 (80.0 percent) from the line. He also added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Jason Larson, Senior, Guard, Sugar Land, Texas (Stephen F. Austin)
UW-La Crosse, Jason Scheunemann, Sophomore, Forward, Cedarburg
UW-Oshkosh, Andy Fernholz, Sophomore, Guard, West Salem (La Crosse Aquinas)
UW-Platteville, Tyler Selk, Senior, Forward, Randolph
UW-Stevens Point, Neal Krajnik, Junior, Guard, Manitwoc (Roncalli)
UW-Superior, Andrew Browning, Junior, Guard, Batavia, Ill.

Week of Jan. 13 - 19
Nate Templer, Junior (Beaver Dam), Forward of UW-Stout
Templer has been instrumental in UW-Stout's four-game conference winning streak that has pushed the Blue Devils into a tie for second place. In an 87-77 come-from-behind win over 14th-ranked UW-Whitewater, he had eight blocked shots, matched Barrington Smith with a team-high 16 points, shooting five-for-eight from the field (four-for-five from three-point range) had five rebounds and one assist. His eight blocked shots were the second-highest total in league history. In an 88-59 victory over UW-La Crosse, Templer scored a game-high 20 points (eight-for-11 from the field, three-for-four from three-point range), pulled down six rebounds, had three assists and one steal. On the week, he scored 36 points (13-for-19 from the field, seven-for-nine from three-point range, three-for-three from the line), had 11 rebounds, nine blocked shots, four assists and one steal.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Jason Larson, Senior, Guard, Sugar Land, Texas (Stephen F. Austin)
UW-La Crosse, Casey Taggatz, Junior, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Andy Fernholz, Sophomore, Guard, West Salem (La Crosse Aquinas)
UW-Platteville, Brad Reitzner, Sophomore, Guard, Stoughton
UW-River Falls, Matt Kukla, Junior, Guard, Eden Prairie, Minn.
UW-Stevens Point, Jason Kalsow, Sophomore, Forward, Huntley, Ill.
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)

Week of Jan. 6 - 12
Tim Dworak, Senior (Kewaunee), Forward of UW-Oshkosh
Dworak recorded a pair of double-doubles as UW-Oshkosh split a pair of WIAC decisions against UW-Whitewater and UW-Superior. In UW-Oshkosh’s 71-70 loss to UW-Whitewater on January 8, Dworak scored 30 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked two shots and recorded one steal in 40 minutes. In the Titans’ 87-63 win over UW-Superior on January 11, he scored a WIAC season-best 37 points while grabbing 10 rebounds, recording three steals and blocking two shots in 36 minutes. His 17 field goals in the game were a career best and the most in the WIAC this season. In the two games, Dworak scored 67 points on 29-of-35 shooting from the field (82.9 percent) and eight-of-nine shooting from the free throw line. He has now scored 30 or more points in his last three games and has scored in double figures in his last 50. Dworak is currently UW-Oshkosh’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,601 career points.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Jason Larson, Senior, Guard, Sugar Land, Texas (Stephen F. Austin)
UW-La Crosse, Casey Taggatz, Junior, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-River Falls, Matt Kukla, Junior, Guard, Eden Prairie, Minn.
UW-Stevens Point, Nick Bennett, Sophomore, Forward, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Stout, Julian Greer, Junior, Forward, St. Paul, Minn.
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)

Weeks of Dec. 16 - Jan. 5
Nicholas Smith, Junior (Greenfield), Forward of UW-Whitewater
Smith helped the Warhawks to five victories over the holiday break including being named the tournament MVP at the Cal State-Hayward Tournament on December 28-29. In a 104-61 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran, he scored a career-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds in 16 minutes. A few days later, in an 83-73 win at Coe (Iowa), Smith surpassed his career-high with 27 points on 10-for-10 shooting from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. During the two-day Cal State-Hayward Tournament in victories over Willamette (Ore.) and Pacific Lutheran (Wash.), Smith had 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds. In the five games, he totaled 88 points (17.6 per game) on 33-for-45 shooting from the field (73.3 percent) and 22-for-31 from the free throw line, while grabbing 33 rebounds with six steals, three assists and three blocked shots.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Jason Larson, Senior, Guard, Sugar Land, Texas (Stephen F. Austin)
UW-La Crosse, Casey Taggatz, Junior, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Tim Dworak, Senior, Forward, Kewaunee
UW-Platteville, Tyler Selk, Senior, Forward, Randolph
UW-River Falls, Rich Melzer, Junior, Forward, Minneapolis, Minn. (River Falls)
UW-Stevens Point, Jason Kalsow, Sophomore, Forward, Huntley, Ill.
UW-Stout, Casey Chapman, Senior, Guard, Hartland (Arrowhead)
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)

Week of Dec. 9 - 15
Josh Iserloth, Senior (Plymouth), Forward of UW-Stevens Point
Iserloth scored 80 points in three Pointer victories last week. He started the week with a 20-point effort, aided by 11-for-16 free throw shooting against UW-Stout. Iserloth then scored 35 points on 12-for-16 shooting from the field, while playing just 20 minutes against Coe (Iowa). Against Carroll, Iserloth poured in 25 points, pulled down nine rebounds and had five blocked shots. For the week, Iserloth shot 25-for-41 from the field (61.0 percent), including seven-for-15 from the three-point line. He made 23-of-32 free throws, had 25 rebounds, seven blocked shots and only one turnover.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Dan Archambault, Sophomore, Guard, Oshkosh (West)
UW-La Crosse, Casey Taggatz, Junior, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Oshkosh, Scott Sowinski, Senior, Forward, Appleton (Xavier)
UW-Platteville, Bryan Stangel, Senior, Forward, Monroe
UW-Stout, Andy Bray, Junior, Forward, Menomonie
UW-Superior, Curtis Andrews, Junior, Guard, Clinton, Iowa (Clinton High Prep)

Week of Dec. 2 - 8
Rich Melzer, Junior (Minneapolis, Minn./River Falls), Forward of UW-River Falls
Melzer led UW-River Falls to a crucial 79-71 victory at No. 3-ranked UW-Oshkosh on Saturday with 34 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. He also had 25 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal against UW-Stevens Point earlier in the week. In the two games during the week, Melzer had 59 points on 22-39 shooting from the field (56.4 percent) and 15-20 shooting from the free throw line (75.0 percent). He added 16 rebounds, four assists and one steal in 78 minutes of action. Melzer has surpassed the 30-point mark in three of seven games this season, including two double-double (points-rebounds) performances.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Jason Larson, Senior, Guard, Sugar Land, Texas (Stephen F. Austin)
UW-La Crosse, Ben Bemis, Sophomore, Forward, Stoughton
UW-Oshkosh, Tim Dworak, Senior, Forward, Kewaunee
UW-Stevens Point, Nick Bennett, Sophomore, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Stout, Jeff Vandenberghe, Junior, Guard, Coon Rapids, Minn.
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)

Week of Nov. 25 - Dec. 1
Jason Larson, Senior (Sugar Land, Texas/Stephen F. Austin), Guard of UW-Eau Claire
Larson put up excellent numbers on the week and led the Blugolds to a second-place finish in the Holiday Inn Airport Invitational in Rochester, New York. His 31 point, 10 rebound, five assist performance on Saturday led UW-Eau Claire to a 78-73 victory over Calvin (Mich.), which entered the game ranked 15th nationally. Larson then added 19 points and five rebounds in a loss to No. 3 ranked Rochester (New York). In three games during the week, Larson had 67 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists and was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the Rochester Invitational.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Rocky Bouldin, Senior, Guard, Schofield (D.C. Everest)
UW-Oshkosh, Tim Dworak, Senior, Guard, Kewaunee
UW-River Falls, Rich Melzer, Junior, Forward, Minneapolis, Minn. (River Falls)
UW-Stevens Point, Tamaris Relerford, Sophomore, Guard, Beloit (Memorial)
UW-Stout, Barrington Smith, Senior, Guard, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Del City)
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)

Week of Nov. 18 - 24
Rich Melzer, Junior (Minneapolis, Minn./River Falls), Forward of UW-River Falls
Melzer helped the Falcons to two wins at the Bethel (Minn.) Tournament last weekend. He led the Falcons in scoring in both games, finishing with 22 points against Northwestern (Minn.) and 26 in the championship game against Bethel. Melzer was 18-for-31 from the field and 12-for-19 from the free throw line. He had 11 rebounds in the two games, along with four blocks, three assists and one steal.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Jason Larson, Senior, Guard, Sugar Land, Texas (Stephen F. Austin)
UW-La Crosse, Casey Taggatz, Junior, Guard, Stevens Point (SPASH)
UW-Platteville, Brandon Temperly, Sophomore, Guard, Hazel Green (Southwestern)
UW-Stevens Point, Neal Krajnik, Junior, Guard, Manitowoc (Roncalli)
UW-Stout, Andy Bray, Junior, Forward, Menominee, Mich.
UW-Superior, Cody Kastern, Junior, Forward, Superior (Senior)
UW-Whitewater, Londen Donlow, Junior, Forward, Milwaukee (Whitefish Bay Dominican)

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