Equan Ards is gearing up to lead the Warhawks for his senior year
WHITEWATER, Wis. (BVM) — In his first year at UW-Whitewater, Equan Ards, the 6-foot-3 guard from Milwaukee averaged 21.2 points and 5.8 rebounds. Ards was named first team All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), and ranked 20th in points per game at the Division III level.
If a 2020 season takes place with the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ards will be looking to continue off his impressive junior year where he broke a school record for most points scored in a game with 49 against UW-Stout on Feb. 22.
Ards will be entering his senior season as a Warhawk but has worn three different collegiate jerseys during his career.
He began at Butler Community College (El Dorado, Kan.) where he averaged 9.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.
Sophomore year found Ards in an Iowa Lakes Community College (Estherville, Iowa) uniform where he improved his season averages to 14.3 points 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
His impressive showing of athleticism and scoring ability at the collegiate level brought him back into his home state of Wisconsin for his junior season.
Ards has found himself in a position to lead a Warhawks team that struggled finding a leader in 2019. Whitewater struggled as a team winning only seven games and ending the year on a six-game losing streak culminating in a disappointing 7-18 record on the year.
The leadership role is not something that should be new for Ards, as he led Hamilton High School to the regional final where he scored 30 points in his final game as a Wildcat. That season Ards averaged 24.8 points a game and was Hamilton’s leading scorer.
If the Warhawks can get that same leadership and score first mentality, they could be looking at a player threatening to be WIAC Player of the Year and compete for a scoring title at the Division III level.
The road has not been easy for Ards as playing for three teams in three years means new coaching staff, teammates and playbooks, all on top of a busy class schedule. Being able to adjust on the fly and settle in with teammates and coaching staff should not be overlooked. It shows how committed Ards is and his potential to take this Warhawk team to the next level.
UW-Whitewater only lost three seniors to graduation after the 2019 season. With Ards leading and a more experienced supporting cast returning the Warhawks will look to right the ship after an uncharacteristically bad 2019 season.
