Panthers’ Criter top EWC defensive player

Senior Jon Criter of Plymouth was voted the Eastern Wisconsin Conference’s “Defensive Player of the Year” for the 2009-10 boys basketball season by the league coaches.

Criter and Panther teammates Greg Rhude, a senior, and junior Mitch Unger were named to the second team.

Criter was also voted to the second team last year. The 6-2 point guard tied for fourth in the league in assists per game at 3.1, ranked fourth in free-throw shooting with 78.3 percent and had a 10.0 points-pergame average. He averaged 1.1 steals and 2.4 rebounds per contest.

“Jon is recognized for being solid all around. He plays good defense every night,” said Panther head coach Scott Richards.

“We ask him to handle the ball and post up. He usually matched up with the other team’s best offensive player. He really knows how to play position defense.”

Rhude, a 6-foot-1 guard, tied for second in the EWC in three-point goals with 27, was eighth in scoring with a 12.6 average and sixth in steals with a 1.8 average. He averaged 1.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds per contest.

“What was nice about Greg was how he improved his game. He just kept improving from his freshman year,” Richards observed.

“He was more than a three-point shooter. He learned to take the ball to the rim. In the last third of the season, he really helped us [on offense].

“He was consistent and shot with confidence,” said the coach.

Unger, a 5-11 guard, shared the fifth spot in the league in scoring with a 14.0 average, was fourth in three-point goals at 26 and ranked fifth in foul shooting with 77.2 percent. He averaged 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.1 rebounds per game.

“We asked Mitch to do a lot – playing point guard and off-guard. He really stepped up his game,” Richards pointed out.

“He had some fantastic games. He took on some pretty tough kids [on defense] and really became a clutch free-throw shooter.

“He has room for improvement but he did a lot for us and played a good all-around game,” the coach said.Richards thought Unger did a nice job of shooting outside and attacking the basket.

“Our players’ all-conference honors are a tribute to our team. The kids deserved to be all-conference,” Richards said.

Senior guard Austin Armga of Waupun and senior guard Brandon Gries of Kiel were selected the EWC’s “Co-Players of the Year.” Armga also earned the honor as a junior. Gries and Armga are the only unanimous first-team picks.

Gries was the EWC scoring champion with an impressive 25.1 average and also led in steals at 2.4 per game. Gries, who earned first-team honors for the third consecutive season, ranked third in rebounding with an 8.14 average and ninth in assists at 2.9 per contest.

Armga finished second in scoring with a 24.6 average, fourth in assists, 3.3 average, and fifth in steals at 1.8 per game. He shot an outstanding 87.0 percent at the foul line – second in the EWC – and was a strong 54.4 percent from the field, including an excellent 14-for-28 on three-pointers.

Armga and Waupun senior guard Cory Nickel were selected to the first team for the second straight year. Nickel hit a league-high 39 three-pointers and was fourth in scoring at 14.6 per game. Nickel also paced the conference in three-point goals last season.

Randy Armga (Austin’s father) of Waupun was voted the league’s “Coach of the Year” for the second consecutive season. Armga, who guided the Warriors to their third straight EWC title, shared the top coaching honor with Richards last year.

Waupun, which chalked up a 13-1 EWC record, has a conference-best two first-team players and four overall selections. PHS and Kiel shared second place with 10-4 marks.

FINAL EWC STATS

Junior Nick Roelse of Sheboygan Fall, a first-team player, led the EWC in rebounding with a 9.4 average. PHS senior forward Ian Murray finished second at 9.2 per game.

Sophomore Blake Loucks of Two Rivers was No. 1 in assists with a 4.5 average.

New Holstein junior Tyler Zipperer led in three-point shooting and overall field-goal accuracy with a sizzling 76.9 and 67.2 percent, respectively. Zipperer was 10-for-13 from three-point range.

Senior Peter Kraus of Kiel was the top free-throw shooter at an outstanding 89.5 percent (17 of 19).