April 12, 2006
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After leading the Hawkeyes to the second highest win total in school history and the 2006 Big Ten Tournament title, seniors Greg Brunner, Erek Hansen and Jeff Horner have been named Iowa’s Most Valuable Players for the 2005-06 basketball season. The announcement came at the squad’s annual awards banquet Wednesday evening.
Brunner, a Charles City native, led the Hawkeyes in both scoring (14.1) and rebounding (9.2), while shooting 45.4% from the field. His career totals include 1,516 points and 990 rebounds. He is Iowa’s career rebounding leader and ranks 10th in scoring. Brunner led the Big Ten in rebounding and earned first team all-conference honors. He was also a third team academic all-American and he was named to the Big Ten’s all-tournament team.
Horner, from Mason City, averaged 13.6 points, 5.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. He scored 1,502 career points and is the only player in Iowa history to collect over 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists. Horner is Iowa’s career assist leader (612) and also ranks first in three-point field goals (262) and attempts (713) while ranking 11th in scoring. Horner was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Big Ten Tournament and earned third team all-league honors.
Hansen, from Bedford, TX, averaged 6.7 points and four rebounds per game, shooting a team-best 58.1% from the field. He led the Big Ten in blocked shots for the second straight season (2.6). Hansen was voted the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year and named to the league all-defensive team. His 212 blocks rank third on Iowa’s career list and his 89 blocked shots in 2006 are third best for a single season at Iowa.
For the second straight year, Junior Adam Haluska received the Chris Street Award, which is presented annually to a Hawkeye player, or players, who best exemplify the spirit, enthusiasm and intensity of Chris Street. Haluska, a native of Carroll, started all 34 games. He averaged 13.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest while earning third team all-Big Ten recognition. Haluska led the team in free throw percentage (84.8%) and shot 41.7% from the field while scoring in double figures in 27 games.
Haluska also earned the Highest GPA Award. A finance major with a 3.41 GPA, he was named to the 2006 CoSIDA academic all-America third team. Brunner joined Haluska on the academic all-America third team, making Iowa the only Division I program with two players on the team. Haluska and Brunner, along with Horner and senior Justin Wieck, earned academic all-Big Ten honors as well. Wieck is a senior who prepped at West HS in Iowa City. Those four players shared the Most Dedicated Student Award.
Senior Doug Thomas earned the Sixth Man Award, junior Mike Henderson was named Most Improved and freshman Tony Freeman was named Newcomer of the Year. Thomas, a native of Pasadena, CA, was Iowa’s top player off the bench, averaging 4.6 points and 4.6 rebounds while ranking second on the team with 28 blocked shots. Thomas was also named the Big Ten’s Sixth Man of the Year.
A Waterloo native, Henderson started all 34 games. He averaged 7.6 points and 3.9 rebounds and was second on the team with 38 steals. Henderson shot 48.7% from the field and 46.4% from three-point range. Freeman, from Maywood, IL, averaged 3.4 points and had 53 assists while seeing action in 33 games and starting four games.
In addition, several players were recognized with Extra Effort and Statistical Awards. Brunner led the team by making five free throws or more in 13 games. He also led in rebounds (314), charges taken (13) and put backs (27). Horner led the team in assists (169) for the fourth straight season, Haluska led in loose balls (47) and free throw percentage (.848), Hansen led in field goal percentage (.581) and Mike Henderson had the top three-point percentage.
Iowa’s five seniors, along with senior managers Mike Freeman and Brent Kozishek, each received senior awards from the Johnson County I-Club.