Bluffton College men’s basketball coach Guy Neal has been named the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year as voted on by the HCAC coaches this week and released today by the HCAC office. Junior wing Rod Overmyer (Payne/Wayne Trace) was a first team All-HCAC selection, while senior wing Chad Cramer (Bellevue) and junior wing Travis Elsass (Wapakoneta/Jackson Center) both earned honorable mention all-league status.
Bluffton was picked to finish last in the HCAC pre-season coaches poll, but Neal led the Beavers to a 16-9 overall record and a fourth place finish in the HCAC with a 6-6 league mark, which was just one game out of first place. The 16 wins ties the third best win total in school history and ties Neal’s highest ever win total in his 12 years at Bluffton. In addition, Neal and his squad overcame the loss of senior Jeremy Roberts, who led the HCAC in scoring as a junior but missed the entire 2001 HCAC schedule due to a knee injury.
Overmyer averaged 14.2 points per game this season and was one of the league’s top 3-point shooters. His 2.3 treys made per game average ranked second in the HCAC and his 41.4% shooting clip from beyond the arc ranked sixth. Overmyer ranked second in the league in free throw percentage (86.5%) and he averaged 19.2 points per game in HCAC contests away from Founders Hall.
Cramer averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in HCAC games this season and was an 89.2% free throw shooter. He was also among the top ten in the league in 3-pointers made, blocked shots and assist-to-turnover ratio. He collected three double-doubles this season and was the MVP of the McDonald’s of Bluffton Holiday Tournament.
Elsass averaged 14.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in HCAC games this season and was second on the team with 35 steals. His 43.1% shooting clip from 3-point range ranked second in the league and he scored 20 or more points seven times.
