Plank named to all-district academic team  

[FEB. 20, 2004]   NORMAL -- Illinois State sophomore Neil Plank, who is a junior academically, was named to the 2003-04 CoSIDA Academic All-District V University Division Men's Basketball Team on Thursday.

With the honor, Plank became the first Redbird to be named to the all-district academic team since Sean Riley in 1999. The District V team is chosen annually from Division I basketball players from the four-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin. To be considered for the academic team, a student-athlete must be a starter or an important reserve and must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.20. The voting is done by sports information directors within each district.

As a selection to the District V team, Plank will be placed on the national ballot for the 2004 Academic All-America Men's Basketball Team. Head coach Porter Moser, who stresses academic success, felt that Plank was deserving of the recognition.

"This is a well-deserved honor for Neil," Moser said. "He takes a lot of time and pride in his academic world, and I'm happy to see it pay off for him. He's one of the best students that I've ever coached, and for him to maintain a 4.0 while traveling, competing and training at Division I athletics is an unbelievable balance."

Plank has played in all 23 games, with 16 starts for the Redbirds. He ranks sixth on the team in scoring at 5.6 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding with 4.4 boards per contest.

Plank is also on the dean's list and the AFNI Athletics Honor Roll.

[Todd Kober, director of athletics media relations,
Illinois State University]

LDN sports sponsored by: