Cornell’s Handke named Academic All-American

Cornell College senior center Chris Handke (Bellevue/Bellevue) has been named to the 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men’s Basketball First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Handke becomes Cornell’s first CoSIDA Academic All-American since 2005, when Anna Doherty (women’s cross country/track and field) and Phil Bilderback (football) were both selected to the second team. He is the first Ram to garner First Team Academic All-America honors since Matt Weiss (football) in 1998.

The last Cornell men’s basketball player named to the first team was Jeff Fleming in 1987. Cornell has fielded 49 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans since 1972, third-most among Iowa Conference schools behind Wartburg (72) and Luther (55).

Handke, who carries a 3.91 cumulative grade point average, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. He is a three-time academic all-Iowa Conference selection and two-time first team academic all-district winner. A 41st round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers last June, Handke plans to pursue a career in professional baseball this spring.

Handke was tabbed to the five-player first team in the College Division, joining Brock Bradford of Husson, Aaron Hill of Rockhurst, Daniel McKeehan of Thomas More and Austin Meier of Milwaukee School of Engineering. Simpson’s Andrew Dau was the IIAC’s lone other representative, landing on the third team.

Cole Aldrich of Kansas and McKeehan were selected as the Academic All-America of the Year in the University and College Divisions, respectively.

To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a player must be a starter or important reserve, have completed one full calendar at the nominating institution and carry a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or better.

The 6-foot-11 Handke is a fourth-year letterwinner with 89 career starts with the Rams. He leads the IIAC in rebounds (9.8 rpg) and blocked shots (2.04) while averaging 13.3 points per game and shooting 49.8 percent from the field.

Handke has posted 10 double-doubles this season, and scored in double figures in 19 of 25 games. His 246 rebounds rank second on the school’s single-season list behind Gus Glasier (280, 1966-67).

Handke is Cornell’s record holder for blocked shots in a game (8 vs. Coe, Dec. 2, 2009), season (51, 2009-10) and career (140, 2006-10). He has four-year totals of 838 points and 660 rebounds and is a career 50.5 percent shooter. Handke was a second team all-IIAC pick in 2008-09, when the Rams qualified for the national tournament for the first time in 15 years.

Handke has helped lead the Rams (15-10 overall, 9-7 IIAC) into the IIAC Tournament for the third consecutive season. Cornell, which claimed the 2009 league tournament crown, opens postseason play against Dubuque at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Dubuque.