GWU's Nate Blank Named A-Sun Freshman of the Year
March 04, 2008 | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Gardner-Webb forward Nate Blank was named
Atlantic Sun Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Year on
Tuesday and was a unanimous selection to the league's All-Freshman
Team.
The Terre Haute (Ind.) North product burst onto the scene early in
his career at Gardner-Webb, starting the season's first 11 games.
He had 12 points in the Bulldogs' Nov. 7 upset of No. 20 Kentucky,
and posted a career-high 25 points on Nov. 20 at current top-25
member Connecticut.
Blank has started 23 games this season overall, and leads the
Atlantic Sun Conference's freshmen in scoring (10.4 ppg) heading
into the General Shale Brick A-Sun Tournament. Blank ended the
season with a flurry, hitting for double digits in scoring six
times in the last eight games – and pulling down a career-high
14 rebounds to go with 13 points in a near upset of league champion
Belmont on March 1.
In A-Sun play, Blank averaged 11.0 points per game and knocked down
45.0 percent of his shots from long range. Overall, Blank has been
accurate as a three-point shooter, making 55-of-144 on the year
(38.2 percent), and has hit 32-of-40 chances from the free throw
stripe (80.0 percent).
A 6-foot-4, 220-pound forward, Blank entered Gardner-Webb with
considerable expectations – after earning a spot on the
prestigious Indiana All-Star Team following a strong prep career in
the Hoosier State.
He played in one of the state's top basketball conferences, which
featured current Indiana sensation Eric Gordon, among others.
Blank is the first Gardner-Webb player to earn a spot on the
league's All-Freshman Team since Andre Manning in 2002-2003. He is
the first Bulldog to be named Freshman of the Year in Men's
Basketball.
Gardner-Webb (15-15, 9-7 A-Sun) will play #3 Stetson (16-15, 11-5
A-Sun) at 3:15 pm ET on Thursday, March 7, in the General Shale
Brick Atlantic Sun Conference quarterfinals. The game will be
broadcast live on WGWG-FM (88.3).
