KANSAS CITY, Mo. - - Five members of the Wilmington University men's basketball team were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches 2011-12 Honors Court last week, as each Wildcat possess a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher following the academic school year.
Seniors Brett Foskey, Ed Freeman, Matt King, Mike Sammons and RJ Tucker all received recognition for excelling in academics throughout the 2011012 season. 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.
To be named to the NABC Honors Court a student-athlete must academically be a junior or a senior and play on the varsity team; possess a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2011-12 academic year; matriculate at least one year at their current institution; and be a member of a NCAA Division I, II, III, or NAIA Institution.
Foskey graduated from Wilmington University in May with a Criminal Justice degree and a 3.49 cumulative grade point average. He was also named to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference All-Academic Team, a Wilmington Academic All-Start and was inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society this past academic year. Playing in his only year on the court with the Wildcats, Foskey saw action in 15 games while making two starts. He scored 14 points on the year while pulling in 29 rebounds, shooting 8-for-10 from the foul line.
Freeman, a two-time NABC Honors Court member, graduated from Wilmington University in May with a Business Management degree and a 3.56 cumulative GPA. He was also named a Wilmington Academic All-Star. Freeman was a two-year member of the Wildcats squad, playing in 39 total games, making 27 starts and scoring 283 career points. He averaged 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, shooting 79-for-100 from the free throw line in two years. The guard also shot 28-for-83 from beyond the three-point line.
King, a two-time NABC Honors Court member, graduated from Wilmington University in May with a Business Management degree and a 3.61 cumulative GPA. This past season he was also named to the CACC Winter All-Academic Team, a Wilmington Academic All-Star and was inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society. During his two year career, King played in 42 games, making 37 starts while averaging 11.0 points per game for his career. He scored 461 total points while pulling in 244 rebounds (5.8 rpg).
Sammons, also a two-time NABC Honors Court member, graduated from Wilmington University in May with a Business Management degree and a 3.68 cumulative GPA. Sammons was inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society in 2011, and was honored as a second-year honoree in 2012. He also was a CACC Winter All-Academic Team member and a Wilmington Academic All-Star this past year. For his career, Sammons appeared in 28 games while making four starts. He scored 29 career points while pulling in 27 career rebounds.
Tucker is currently working towards an Accounting degree and holds a cumulative GPA of 3.38. In his one season as a Wildcat, Tucker appeared in eight games while making three starts. Tucker became the first seven-footer to appear in a Wilmington University uniform, scoring one point and pulling in two rebounds in 19 minutes. He also blocked one shot this past season.
Wilmington University is among 195 colleges and universities among all NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA institutions that had at least one honoree for men's basketball.
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.