Plank
named to all-district academic team
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[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.
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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.
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article]
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"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]
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