Indiana natives Zeller, Hulls, Smith and Plumlee honored for academics
From news releases:
Two members of the top-ranked Indiana University men’s basketball team and one from Butler are among 15 who were named to the 2012-13 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Basketball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Sophomore Cody Zeller (Washington, Indiana) was named first team Academic All-American and senior Jordan Hulls (Bloomington, Indiana) was named third team Academic All-American. They are the 10th and 11th players in program history to earn the honor and the first since Luke Recker received the distinction in 1999. In addition, both earned the coveted Mr. Basketball Award as the top high school player in the state of Indiana before coming to IU.
Butler center Andrew Smith was named to the second team. Another Indiana native, Duke’s Mason Plumlee (Warsaw), was named to the first team.
IU is the only school with more than one player recognized. Coach Tom Crean was proud of his players.
I believe Cody and Jordan represent exactly what we expect an Indiana basketball player to embody, Crean said. I think their achievements academically is in direct proportion to the success they are having on the court. You can’t have one without the other. They are outstanding young men.
A business major with a 3.44 G.P.A., Zeller is the lone sophomore on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Basketball first team. An All-American as a freshman, he is averaging 16.6 points and 8.2 and ranks ninth nationally with a .598 field goal percentage and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his career with a 17-point effort at Michigan State on Tuesday. The 2012 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Zeller is a candidate for the Wooden Award, the Naismith Award and the Oscar Robertson Award. The younger brother of UNC’s Tyler Zeller, the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year, Zeller is studying at IU’s prestigious Kelley School of Business.
Hulls is a graduate student with a 3.49 G.P.A. in athletic administration. He earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from IU last May. He is 29th on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,261 points and is second all-time at IU with 240 three-point field goals made. He is second in the country in three-point field goal percentage making 48.9% of his long distance calls. He is averaging 10.8 points and is third in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio.
The second team included Smith, Peyton Siva of Louisville, Ben Averkamp of Loyola, Nathan Healy of Appalachian State and Matthew Dellavedova of Saint Mary’s. Chosen third team Academic All-America were Jordan Hulls of Indiana, Mike Muscala of Bucknell, Marc Trasolini of Santa Clara, Mathias Ward of Montana and Darren White of Campbell.
Smith, a finance major from Zionsville, Ind., is the seventh Butler player to earn Academic All- America recognition and the sixth since 2007. Butler has had one or more players named to the Academic All-America Team in each of the past seven seasons, including three-time Academic All-American and 2011 Academic All-American of the Year Matt Howard.
I’m so proud of Andrew for his commitment to excellence, on and off the court, said Butler head coach Brad Stevens of his latest Academic All-American. He has improved as much as any player that we’ve had because of work ethic, intelligence and ambition. Those same traits have produced similar, high achievement in the classroom. Congratulations from our entire program to Andrew Smith.
Smith currently is the second-leading scorer (11.3) and rebounder (5.4) for the 22-5 Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 15 in both the Associated Press national poll and the USA Today/Coaches poll. He’s started 26 Butler games this season and 93 of the Bulldogs’ last 96 contests, including both NCAA Final Four games in 2011. Earlier this season, he became the 34th Butler player to score 1,000 career points. Smith is the only current collegiate player who has seen action in two NCAA Division I national championship games.
The Butler honor student is one of 10 national finalists for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award, presented for notable achievement in community, classroom, character and competition. The winner of that award will be announced at the Final Four in Atlanta, Ga.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
FIRST TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Aaron Craft (1) Ohio State Jr. Findlay, Ohio 3.92 Nutrition
Kelly Olynyk Gonzaga Jr. Kamloops, B.C., Can. 3.53 Accounting
Mason Plumlee (1) Duke Sr. Warsaw, Ind. 3.36 Psychology
Matthew Sullivan (3) Brown Sr. Wilmette, Ill. 4.00 Economics
Cody Zeller Indiana So. Washington, Ind. 3.44 Business
SECOND TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Ben Averkamp Loyola Chicago Sr. Germantown, Wis. 3.80 Biology
Matthew Dellavedova (1) Saint Mary’s (Cal.) Sr. Maryborough, Australia 3.40 Psychology
Nathan Healy Appalachian State Sr. New Bern, N.C. 3.99 Management
Peyton Siva Louisville Sr. Seattle, Wash. 3.37 Sociology
Andrew Smith Butler Sr. Zionsville, Ind. 3.54 Finance
THIRD TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Jordan Hulls Indiana Gr. Bloomington, Ind. 3.49 Athletic Administration
Mike Muscala Bucknell Sr. Roseville, Minn. 3.36 Management
Marc Trasolini Santa Clara Gr. Vancouver, B.C. 3.60 Finance
Mathias Ward Montana Gr. Gig Harbor, Wash. 3.69 Business
Darren White Campbell Sr. Danville, Va. 3.66 Information Security & Tech.
