KANSAS CITY, MO (Blugolds.com) – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today the 2020 NABC Coaches' Division III All-District teams and coaches, recognizing the best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes and coaches in the division with Blugold Cole Rabedeaux (Sr.-Poulso, WA/North Kitsap) earning a spot on the Central Team.
Only 10 players were selected for each region, five on the First Team and five on the Second. Rabedeaux earned a spot on the Second Team after leading the Blugolds this season.
The senior was second in scoring in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), averaging 19.3 points per game. He also was fourth in steals (1.63 per game) and fifth in free throw percentage (.818).
UW-Eau Claire had their best season in nearly two decades as the Blugolds earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2001. In the First Round, Eau Claire downed Whitman (WA) 78-61 before falling to Saint John's, 78-69.
Rabedeaux played a crucial role in the Blugolds' success this season, coming up big in keys wins. Early in the season against Whitworth (WA) in Washington-St. Louis' Lopata Classic, the senior played the entire 40 minutes and hit a buzzer beater for a 77-75 victory, tallying 26 points and shooting a blistering 61.1 percent from the field (11-for-18). In the WIAC Semifinals against top-seeded Platteville, who was also ranked No. 6 in the nation, Rabedeaux led fourth-seeded Eau Claire to a 78-74 win where he shot 53.3 percent from the field (8-for-15) and 50 percent (3-for-6) from beyond the arc to finish with a team-high 22 points. In his two NCAA contests, Rabedeaux shot 55 percent (16-for-29) and averaged 18 points.
The Poulsbo, Washington native wrapped up his career with 1,162 points and became the 42nd player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark and did so in just three seasons in the Blugold uniform. Playing in 81 games, Rabedeaux shot 47.5 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and 80.4 percent from the free throw line.
