Men's Basketball
2005-06 All-Conference Team

(Lebanon, Ill.) – Just four years after adding men's basketball as an intercollegiate sport, the University of Illinois-Springfield has earned its first trip to the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The top-seeded Prairie Stars held off No. 3 McKendree College in Saturday's AMC Tournament championship game, 83-76. With the win, Illinois-Springfield advances to the NAIA's 32-team national tournament as the AMC’s automatic qualifier March 15-21 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

In a vote taken by league coaches, Mike Strobbe of McKendree College has been named the AMC Player of the Year for the 2005-06 season. Strobbe, a 6-7 junior forward from Ferguson, Mo., led the Bearcats in both scoring and rebounding at 15.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per contest. Strobbe ranked among NAIA Division I leaders in rebounding for most of the season. He also has connected on 58.2 percent of his attempts from the field.  

Bryant Chambly from Columbia College has been selected as the 2005-06 AMC Newcomer of the Year. Chambly, a 6-4 junior forward from St. Louis, Mo., posted 11.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He also chipped in 50 steals for the Cougars during the regular season.

The 2005-06 AMC Freshman of the Year is Kelvin Johnson from the University of Illinois-Springfield. Johnson, a 5-11 guard from Chicago, Ill., averaged 13.6 points and 4.7 assists per contest for the Prairie Stars. He also has 60 steals to his credit.

Earning his first AMC Coach of the Year award in 2005-06 is Kevin Gamble from the University of Illinois-Springfield. Gamble led the Prairie Stars to an 18-12 regular-season record and a share of the AMC title with a 9-3 mark in league play. Now in his fourth season at Illinois-Springfield, Gamble has a career record of 51-70.

A complete list of the 10-member AMC All-Conference team, the honorable mention squad and the academic all-conference team, is included on the following pages. Members of the Academic All-Conference team have earned at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

- AMC -

2005-06 AMC All-Conference Team
Men's Basketball

First Team All-Conference

Honorable Mention All-Conference

2005-06 American Midwest Conference
Academic All-Conference Team