A hard-working student and athlete, Illinois State University guard Kevin Troc might not be the most highly-regarded player on the Redbird basketball team, but hes truly the kind of student-athlete whose efforts would impress the late Milt Weisbecker--a pioneer for the Redbirds as athletics director in the 1960s and 1970s. Thats one reason why Troc is the 2003 recipient of the Milt Weisbecker Endowed Scholarship at Illinois State.
Troc, a business administration major, is a junior academically but a sophomore athletically because he redshirted his first year. The 2001 Lockport High School graduate suffered a staph infection during his first semester at Illinois State, missing two months of practice. He recovered from that illness to make valuable contributions off the bench to Redbird victories in 2002-03.
Established in 1990, the Weisbecker Endowed Scholarship is named for the man who led Illinois State's program into Division I status more than 30 years ago and stayed close to the ISU athletics program even as his career moved on to other positions at Illinois State. The Weisbecker Scholarship is awarded to a junior or senior men's basketball player with a commitment to academics and competition.
Although Porter Moser has only known Troc for a few weeks, the new Illinois State head basketball coach values what his sophomore guard brings to the team.
Kevins attitude and effort are phenomenal, said Moser. Hes an extremely tough kid who plays through pain. I know in the classroom he does an outstanding job. Hes responded really well to whatever we have asked of him.
Weisbecker, who died in 2002, initiated the concept of scholarships for student-athletes at Illinois State and was always quick to point out that athletic scholarships create opportunity--it was up to individual student-athletes to make the most of the experience. Troc embraces Weisbeckers philosophy.
Its a great honor to be recognized this way because of all Mr. Weisbecker did for Illinois State, said Troc. I think he was absolutely right--scholarships are opportunities. I just try to work hard every day and try not miss an opportunity to get better at whatever Im doing.
The Milt Weisbecker Endowed Scholarship is one of 12 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes funded by private donors. Six of them are already fully-funded, including the Milt Weisbecker Endowed Scholarship.
For information about supporting Illinois State University endowments for student-athletes, call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803.
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Milt Weisbecker
Endowed Scholars
Illinois State University Basketball
2003 - Kevin Troc
2002 - Marcus Arnold
2001 - Gregg Alexander
2000 - Rich Beyers
1999 - Ryan Crowley
1998 - Ronald van Velzen
1997 - Steve Hansell
1996 - LeRoy Watkins
