« Men’s Basketball 2009-10

David Kool

School
Western Michigan University
Position
Guard
Major
Physical Education
PPG
21.0
RPG
3.8
APG
2.7

Classroom

Kool is a physical education major with an emphasis in teaching and coaching at Western Michigan and carries a 3.41 cumulative grade point average in his studies.  He was a 2008-09 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America third-team selection as well as a 2008-09 ESPN the Magazine All-District IV first-team selection.  Kool was named to the 2007-08 and 2008-09 National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court while also being a member of the Academic All-MAC squad.  Additionally, he was a 2008-09 Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan College Academic-Athletic Honors team member and the 2008-09 Lois Ellis Scholar Athlete Award winner, which is given to outstanding male student-athlete.  Kool is a four-time member of the Dean’s List at Western Michigan and a six-time Bronco Academic Honor Roll student.  He has taught elementary motor skills since his sophomore year and plans on teaching physical education and motor skills in the future, in addition to coaching basketball.

Character

Kool suffered a tear in his left ACL after his junior year of high school and underwent an intense rehab program to make it back for his senior year.  He went on to win 2006 Michigan Mr. Basketball.  After arriving at WMU, Kool suffered a hamstring injury in one of his first workouts and missed almost two months of practice at the beginning of the season.  He was still able to bounce back and earn MAC Freshman of the Year honors and Mid-Major Freshman All-America honors.  Kool took over as a team captain for his senior season.  For the first time in school history, he organized the returning players on the team to stay on campus during the first summer session for individual, voluntary workouts.  Kool is one of the hardest working players on the team during practice and frequently organizes his own personal practices to continue to improve his own skills.

Community

Kool is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and volunteered with the local Special Olympics in 2009 and taught soccer to the athletes.  He has volunteered at the Portage, Mich., YMCA for the past year, where he teaches basketball camps and participates in other volunteer activities.  In addition, Kool participated as a camp counselor at Western Michigan basketball camps for the past three summers and basketball camps at his high school, South Christian.  He is a frequent public speaker for local schools and the youth group for his church, talking to underprivileged kids and motivating them about work ethic and giving them something to aspire to.  Kool also volunteered with the Camp Darryl AAU basketball team.

Competition

Kool ranks second all-time at Western Michigan and in the MAC in career free throw percentage at 88.6 percent.  He ranks seventh in career points at WMU with 1,480, which is just 380 points shy of passing Manny Newsome.  In addition, he ranks fifth in career three-pointers with 168 and fourth in career free throws with 396.  Kool accumulated a 91.7 percent free throw percentage in the 2006-07 campaign, which was the fourth-best by a freshman in NCAA history.  He holds four of the top five longest consecutive free throw streaks in school history, including the record of 41 in a row over eight games from January 18-February 12, 2008.  Through the first three years of his career, Kool has made 102 of 109 (93.6 percent) in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime.  In the 2008-09 season, Kool was a second-team All-MAC selection and a NABC District 14 first-team member.  He was voted as the WMU Most Valuable Player and led the MAC in scoring with 17.9 points per game, becoming the first Bronco to do so since Booker James in 1986-87.  He ranked second in free throws made with 161 and free throw percentage, where he shot 89.4 percent.  He was also fifth in three-pointers per game (1.87) and 15th in steals per game (1.42) counting all games played.  In conference action, Kool ranked first in scoring (18.7 points per game) and free throws made (96).  He was second in free throw percentage at 93.2 percent and was seventh in defensive rebounds with 4.56 rebounds per game. He was a three-time MAC West Player of the Week and one-time MAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week.  In 2007-08, Kool was a first-team All-MAC performer and the CollegeInsider.com MAC Most Valuable Player. He was a three-time MAC Player of the Week during the 2007-08 season.  Kool’s freshman year at WMU was also chalked full of some impressive honors.  He was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and the MAC Report Online Freshman of the Year.  In addition, Kool was a member of the MAC All-Freshman team and the CollegeInsider.com mid-major Freshman All-American team.  Kool led the MAC and was fifth in the country in free throw percentage (91.7 percent), which was also second all-time at WMU.