Boots Selected As WBCA Division III Public Schools Player Of The Year
UW-Oshkosh senior Ben Boots was named the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Public Schools Player of the Year after helping the Titans win the first national title in program history.
Boots and the Titans clinched the Division III championship with a convincing 96-82 victory over Swarthmore College (Pa.) on March 16 in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Boots, the 2019 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Player of the Year, also garnered Division III Central Region Player of the Year honors this season from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and All-America First Team accolades from both the NABC and D3hoops.com.
A three-time All-WIAC First Team selection, Boots led UW-Oshkosh with 15.7 points per game, an .875 free throw percentage, 134 assists, 87 made 3-pointers and a 2.03 assist-to-turnover ratio as the Titans compiled a 29-3 record on the way to winning the national title. Boots paced the WIAC in assists, made 3-pointers and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Boots scored in double figures 29 times on the year and made multiple 3-pointers on 24 occasions. He scored a season-high 31 points in wins over St. Norbert College on Dec. 18 and UW-Stout on Jan. 5. Boots' season highlights also include 16 points and 10 assists for his second career double-double during a victory at UW-Stevens Point on Jan. 9; 25 points, seven assists and six made 3-pointers during a win over University of Northwestern during the NCAA regional title game March 2; and a team-high 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in a win over UW-Stevens Point on Feb. 9.
Boots, who contributed 10 points, six rebounds and seven assists during the national championship game, was chosen as a finalist for the 2019 Jostens Trophy that is awarded each year to the best Division III men's and women's basketball student-athletes. He registered 21 points and drilled five 3-pointers during a win over Wheaton College (Ill.) during the Division III semifinals March 15.
Boots helped UW-Oshkosh compile an 89-32 record during his career and make a program-record four consecutive trips to the NCAA postseason. The Titans also reached the national title game last season before falling, 78-72, to Nebraska Wesleyan University in the championship contest in Salem, Va.
Boots capped his standout UW-Oshkosh career as the school's all-time leader with 417 assists, 272 made 3-pointers, 699 3-point attempts and 121 games played. He finished sixth on the program's scoring list with 1,695 career points.
The 2019 WBCA Men's Players of the Year also included Marquette University's Markus Howard in Division I, University of Minnesota Crookston's Harrison Cleary in Division II, Milwaukee School of Engineering's Matthew Kirmse in Division III Private Schools and University of Green Bay-Sheboygan's Dylan Martens in Junior College.