The following players have been named to the team.

FIRST TEAM

Ben Woodside, Albert Lea, Jr., 6-0, Guard: The Tribune’s Player of the Year as a sophomore, Woodside took it to another level this season while rewriting most of the Albert Lea boys’ basketball record book as the Tigers went 13-13 overall and 6-12 in the Big Nine. He topped the 1,000-point milestone while setting school records for most points in a game, season and career. Woodside averaged 23.5 points per game, shooting 47.1 percent on two-point field goals (188-for-399), 32.3 percent on threes (51-for-158) and 70.6 percent of his free throws (137-for-194) while playing in one of the toughest conferences in the state. He totaled 81 assists, 71 steals and 65 rebounds. &uot;Woody can hurt you so many ways &045; transition, penetration, pull-up jumper, and has excellent range on his jump shot,&uot; said Tigers coach Matt Addington. &uot;Defensively, his quickness and aggressiveness make him an absolute stopper. I have said it before, but there is not a guy that works harder on his game than Woody. The honors he has received are a product of this. More than anything Woody wants his team to win.”

Tyler Young, Albert Lea, Sr., 6-5, Forward: Young was a force up front while earning first team All-Area honors for a second time. He led the Tigers in rebounding with 8.2 per game, also averaging 8.2 points with 44 assists, 30 blocked shots and 17 steals. Young shot 47.8 percent on field goals (86-for-180) and 63.5 percent on free throws (40-for-63). “Tyler had a down year statistically, but he sure wasn’t able to sneak up on anybody this year,&uot; said Tigers coach Matt Addington. &uot;His physical ability was always a major concern for opponents as teams didn’t want to get beat inside. This opened up other parts of our game. Because of this, Tyler developed into one of our best passers and did a great job of finding the open man. His physical presence sure brought some exciting moments to our games as he was above the rim a lot. Our fans loved to see him hanging from the rim after a number of his thunderous dunks too. Tyler is very gifted and will be playing next year at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa.&uot;

Michael Stensrud, Lake Mills, Sr., 6-8, Center: A first team All-North Iowa Conference selection, Stensrud led the Bulldogs to a record of 16-6 overall and 9-4 in the NIC, good for third place, and second place in Class A District 4. After missing his entire junior season with an injury, Stensrud averaged 15.1 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots per game, shooting 57 percent from the field and 68 percent on free throws (62-for-91). “Michael probably improved as much in the course of a season as any player I’ve coached,” said Bulldogs coach Kyle Menke. “He struggled in December and early January, but once he got things figured out and the kids did a better job of getting him the ball, he was one of the most dominant players in our area the last 10 or 12 games of the season.” Stensrud plans to play basketball at North Iowa Area Community College.

Lee Nelson. Northwood-Kensett, Jr., 6-4, Guard: A repeat selection for the Tribune’s All-Area first team, Nelson was named third team all-state by at least two publications after leading the Vikings to a 12-11 record this past season. Nelson averaged 19.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists, with 40 steals and 19 blocked shots. He shot 62.3 percent on two-point field goals (101-for-162), 43.9 percent on threes (58-for-132) ad 84.4 percent at the free-throw line (76-for-90). A unanimous first team All-Corn Bowl Conference player, Nelson is being recruited by several colleges including the University of Northern Iowa, Drake and Creighton. “He was a three-year starter as a junior, and called by one source the best prep player in Northern Iowa over the next two years,” said Vikings coach Phil Perry. “He’s extremely efficient and he’s a gifted athlete. He set the school scoring record in golf as a freshman and was an all-district safety in football.”

Ben Wetzell, United South Central, Sr., 6-2, Guard: One of the area’s best football players last fall, when he quarterbacked the Rebels to an undefeated regular season, Wetzell helped spark a postseason run in basketball that ended in the section semifinals as USC finished 11-15. Wetzell averaged 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds, with a team-high 58 steals and 43 assists, shooting 44 percent on two-point field goals (129-for-192), 28 percent on threes (13-for-46) and 46 percent on free throws (27-for-59). “He had a nice year for us,” said Rebels coach Travis Olson. “He’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades. He was asked to not only score and rebound, but guard the other team’s best ballplayer.” Wetzell plans to play college football at Bethel.

SECOND TEAM

Josh Wills, Alden-Conger, Sr., 6-3, Forward/Guard: The Knights made big strides this season, going from 3-21 the previous year to 8-18, and Wills was a big reason why. He earned All-Gopher Conference honors while averaging 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds, with a team best 78 assists and 34 steals along with 15 blocked shots. He shot 58 percent from the field (113-for-196), 21 percent on three-point shots (10-for-48) and 64 percent at the line (61-for-96). “He improved in a lot of areas from last year, when he shot 38 percent from the field, but scoring was not the most important part of the game,” said Knights coach David Bosma. “He was our captain, and he showed great leadership. In our double-overtime game, I still remember him saying, ‘We’re going to win this no matter what.’ He showed great leadership.”

Michael Yocom, Glenville-Emmons, Jr., 6-1, Forward: Yocom was the lone All-Southeast Conference player for the 7-16 Wolverines and, rating No. 6 in the coaches’ voting, will be the top returning underclassman in the league next year. He averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists, shooting 50 percent from the floor, with 55 steals and 17 blocked shots, but the strong part of his game may be defense. He held the conference’s top scorer, 6-foot-5 Chad Orum of LeRoy-Ostrander, to 11 points in both games this season and to three rebounds in the first meeting. &uot;We had to move him around to a bunch of different positions, but he always guarded the best guy on the floor,&uot; said Wolverines coach Dan Fredrickson. &uot;He’s a phenomenal defender and an extremely tough competitor.&uot;

Derek Richards, Lake Mills, Sr., 6-0, Guard: Richards led the Bulldogs and the area in assists, averaging 5.4 per game as Lake Mills finished 16-6. A second team All-North Iowa Conference selection, Richards averaged 10.4 points and 1.4 steals while shooting 42 percent from the floor and 66 percent at the free-throw line (51-for-77). He had 26 three-point field goals. “Derek was first team all-conference as a junior, but in my opinion he had a better season this year,” said Lake Mills coach Kyle Menke. “He was a definite leader for us, an excellent passer, a great kid. I really enjoyed coaching him.” Richards intends to walk on for basketball at North Iowa Area Community College.

Zak Tracy, NRHEG, Jr., 5-9, Guard: The floor leader for the Panthers, 14-10 overall and 7-6 in the Gopher Conference, Tracy was voted all-conference while averaging 12.4 points and 2.5 rebounds for the season, with a team-best 87 assists and 45 steals. He shot 37 percent on field goals (94-for-254), 83 percent on free throws (79-for-95) and 36 percent on three-point field goals (30-for-82). “He does a ton of things for us,” said Panthers coach Matt Eppen. “In a lot of games, he did a real good job controlling the tempo, and he improved defensively. He’s just a good all-around player.”

Kyle Hanson, Northwood-Kensett, Sr., 6-3, Forward: A three-year varsity basketball player, Hanson had a solid season for the 11-10 Vikings, averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds, with 43 assists, 35 steals and 17 blocked shots and shooting 46.5 percent from the field (73-for-157) and 50 percent at the line (58-for-116). &uot;Kyle has a motor that just won’t quit,&uot; said Vikings coach Phil Perry. &uot;He’s all over the floor, offensively and defensively. He was a linebacker for us in football, and he carried that mentality onto the basketball court. He’s a great leader.&uot;

Ryan Treptow, United South Central, Sr., 6-1, Center: Treptow was typical of the 2002-03 Rebels in his aggressive, hard-nosed approach and the fact he played his best basketball at the end of the season as USC finished two wins away from the state tournament. He had averages of 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, shooting 42 percent from the field (93-for-222) and 56 percent at the line (56-for-100), with 54 steals and 25 assists. &uot;Ryan was a big part of our success this year,&uot; said USC coach Travis Olson. &uot;He really made himself a true post player over the course of the last year. He’s not particularly big, but he plays a lot bigger because of his intensity, strength and athleticism.&uot;

HONORABLE MENTION

&045; Albert Lea &045; Mike Behrends, soph., 6-5, forward; Tom Munden, sr., 6-3, forward;

&045; Alden-Conger – Scott Martinson, soph., 6-0, guard; Brett Penning, sr., 6-4, forward/center;

&045; Glenville-Emmons &045; Jake Hansen, sr., 6-4, center;

&045; Lake Mills &045; Jeremi Throne, jr., 6-2, guard; Joe Woelfel, soph., 6-3, forward;

&045; NRHEG &045; Michael Hullopeter, sr., 6-2, forward; Bjorn Peterson, soph., 6-0, forward;

&045; Northwood-Kensett &045; Joe Bedford, jr., 6-2, guard;

&045; United South Central &045; Chris Vondracek, sr., 6-3, forward.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

&045; 2003 &045; Ben Woodside, Albert Lea

&045; 2002 &045; Ben Woodside, Albert Lea

&045; 2001 &045; Paul Scrabeck, Alden-Conger

&045; 2000 &045; John Jacobs, United South Central

&045; 1999 &045; Justin Davis, Glenville-Emmons, and Jeff Schulz, Albert Lea

&045; 1998 &045; Josh Ladwig, Albert Lea

&045; 1997 &045; Kyle Schlaak, NRHEG

&045; 1996 &045; Kyle Schlaak, NRHEG

&045; 1995 &045; Andy Stensrud, Lake Mills

&045; 1994 &045; Kris Johannsen, Alden-Conger

&045; 1993 &045; John VanBeek, Glenville-Emmons

&045; 1992 &045; Chris Boysen, Albert Lea

COACH OF THE YEAR

&045; 2003 &045; Kyle Menke, Lake Mills

&045; 2002 &045; Jeff Rayman, Glenville-Emmons

&045; 2001 &045; Travis Olson, United South Central

&045; 2000 &045; Paul Ragatz, Alden-Conger

&045; 1999 &045; None chosen

&045; 1998 &045; Paul Ragatz, Alden-Conger

&045; 1997 &045; Ted Pelzl, NRHEG

&045; 1996 &045; Ted Pelzl, NRHEG

&045; 1995 &045; Kevin Nelson, Lake Mills

&045; 1994 &045; Paul Ragatz, Alden-Conger

&045; 1993 &045; Craig Rayman, Glenville-Emmons

&045; 1992 &045; Doug Christopherson, Albert Lea