Dupage Policy Journal

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) has announced the honorees for its men's basketball awards. Ryan Johnson, a sophomore at Carthage, was named the Fred Young CCIW Most Outstanding Student-Athlete. Illinois Wesleyan's freshman Josh Fridman earned the title of CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year. Additionally, Carthage's head coach Steve Djurickovic received recognition as CCIW Coach of the Year.

Ryan Johnson is noted for being Carthage’s fifth recipient of the Fred Young CCIW Most Outstanding Student-Athlete award, following in the footsteps of his coach, Steve Djurickovic, who had won it consecutively in 2010 and 2011. During the conference schedule, Johnson averaged 15.8 points per game and led all players with an average of 9.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game.

Josh Fridman started in 14 games against CCIW opponents and concluded the regular season with averages of 9.1 points and 2.7 assists per game, ranking eighth in assists within the conference. The Northbrook native was also noted for his exceptional free-throw shooting accuracy at .956 percent.

Steve Djurickovic led Carthage to its first conference title since 2017 and their first outright win since 2010 with a record of 14-2 against CCIW opponents during regular season play.

In addition to these individual accolades, Ryan Johnson and AJ Johnson from Carthage were unanimous selections for the All-CCIW First Team alongside Nick Roper from Illinois Wesleyan and Soren Richardson from Wheaton. Tyler Knuth from Augustana joined them as one of only two repeat selections on this team.

The announcement also included recognitions such as All-CCIW Second Team members and recipients of the CCIW RESPECT Award.