Ottumwa -- Three more Indian Hills basketball players have decided on a school where they will continue their careers. The trio includes Tomas Woldetensae, Iziah James and Nick Wagner.
Woldetensae has signed a letter of intent to join the Virginia Cavaliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the defending NCAA national champions coached by Tony Bennett. Woldetensae goes to UVA after two highly successful seasons at Indian Hills, capped by first-team All-American recognition. He was named the ICCAC Player of the Year and first-team all-region after a sophomore campaign in which he averaged a team-best 17.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The native of Bologna, Italy shot 47 percent from the field, 47.6 percent from 3-point range and 88.5 percent at the foul line. His averages were 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists as a freshman. He leaves IHCC as the all-time leader in free throw percentage (88.8 percent) and is third in 3-pointers with 154. His 103 3s this past season are third in school history for a single season.
James came to IHCC after a year at Cal Poly and made a big impact on the Warriors' 27-7 season earning second-team all-region honors. He was third in scoring, averaging 10.9 a game and led in assists with 114, while shooting 43.6 percent from the floor, nearly 40 percent from behind the arc and 86.3 percent in free throws. He started 23 of IHCC's 34 games and had the single-best scoring game for a Warrior -- 32 points against Moberly (Mo.). James will head to SIU-Edwardsville after his one year at Indian Hills. At SIU-E he will play for Brian Barone in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Wagner arrived at Indian Hills with a reputation as a long-range marksman and he didn't disappoint, shooting 40 percent from distance with 57 3s, tied with James for second on the team. The Galesville, Wisconsin product averaged 7.3 points a game and played in all 34 IHCC contests after spending the previous season at Iowa Lakes CC. He shot 92.3 percent from the charity stripe and pumped in a season-high 24 points against North Central Missouri. Wagner inked his letter of intent with Bemidji State University in Minnesota, an NCAA Division II school where one of the assistant coaches is Nick's brother, Tim. The Beavers play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and their head coach is Mike Boschee.
These three players join Devontae Lane (Central Michigan), Josh Nicholas (Louisana Monroe), Lance Singh (Delaware State) and Tyler Chisom (South Dakota) on the list of those who have signed for next year.