STANDISH, Maine – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) has announced the 2014-15 NABC Honors Court, recognizing those men's collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the past season, and a pair of Saint Joseph's College men's basketball players have collected the national academic accolade.
Departed senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) has earned NABC Honors Court honors for the second-consecutive season while rising senior guard Davis Tucker (High Point, N.C.) has claimed the academic award for the first time.
The NABC Honors Court recognizes the talents and gifts that these men possess off the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom. In order to receive the academic award, a player must have reached junior or senior academic status, possess a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2014-15 academic year, and have played at least one year at their current NCAA DI, DII, DIII or NAIA institution.
Overall, 1,000 college players from 350 total institutions have collected the NABC Honors Court award this year. Simonds and Tucker are two of eight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) players to earn mention. Julian Sanders, Lemar Larsen and Dayron Caldwell of Albertus Magnus, Jordan DeMario of Emmanuel and Evan Tullar and Alex Preckol of Norwich have also claimed the NABC academic honor.
The announcement of the individual honors comes on the heels of the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, which Saint Joseph's garnered for the first time and was the lone GNAC representative on the list of over 175 NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA Division I and II institutions to be honored this year.
NABC RELEASE (Includes list of recipients)
About the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC):
Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. For additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, go to www.nabc.org.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
