Men's Basketball

HADLEY NAMED FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICAN

HADLEY NAMED FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
Posted: Mar 30, 2022

Ottumwa, IA – J'Vonne Hadley (St. Paul, MN/Northeastern) of the Indian Hills Men's Basketball team has been named a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball First-Team All-American, announced Wednesday morning by the NJCAA National Office.

Hadley becomes the 32nd All-American in program history and the 14th Warrior to earn first-team status. Indian Hills has now produced an NJCAA All-American in 11 consecutive seasons dating back to the 2011-12 year. Since 2000, 24 Warriors have earned All-American honors.

Hadley joins fellow teammate Taj Anderson (Queens, NY/Quality Education) who was named a NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American. Anderson and Hadley become the third teammates to earn All-American honors under head coach Hank Plona and the fifth such occurrence all-time for the Warrior program. Anderson and Hadley become the ninth and 10th All-Americans under Plona.

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"J'Vonne is a First-Team All-American in every sense of the term," stated head coach Hank Plona. "He did it all for us this year, and was the driving force pushing us towards becoming a championship team."

In Hadley's first season as a Warrior, the St. Paul, MN native guided the program to the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Tournament in Hutchinson, KS as the No. 6 seed and a 27-6 overall record on the year. Hadley and the Warriors captured the NJCAA Region XI regular season title, the NJCAA Region XI Championship, and the NJCAA North Central District Championship.

Hadley received numerous accolades throughout the year, including the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Player of the Year, announced on Feb. 28 and NJCAA Region XI First-Team honors. Hadley's stellar play in the second half of the season led to four ICCAC Athlete of the Week honors within a six-week stretch. Hadley was also recognized as the Indian Hills Male Student-Athlete of the Month for the month of January.

"When J'Vonne Hadley is in that locker room, it's easy to be a great team," Plona added. He does it all on the court, off the court, in the classroom, in the community, and anywhere else he goes. We were fortunate to have the chance to coach him for a year. I cannot wait to continue to follow J'Vonne on his journey to becoming a professional basketball player, he has everything that it takes."

Hadley started 27 of a possible 33 games for the Warriors, averaging over 25 minutes a game while recording 10.9 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per contest. The versatile playmaker scored in double-figures in 17 games, including a stretch of 14 games from Jan. 8 through March 5. Hadley totaled four double-doubles on the year and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds on Feb. 7.

The guard provided a number of highlights throughout the year that served as key moments during the Warriors' successful season. The sophomore produced a pair of game-winning baskets over nationally ranked opponents in No. 2 John A. Logan College (IL) on Nov. 23 and No. 23 Triton College (IL) on Jan. 12.

A member of the Indian Hills Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Hadley is a psychology major who will graduate following the spring term. Hadley was named to the NJCAA Region XI All-Academic First-Team in the fall semester.