Click here to view the complete RMAC All-Academic men's basketball team
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fort Lewis College center
Matt Morris was named
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Academic Player of the Year and seven members of the team received RMAC All-Academic accolades, Assistant Commissioner Eric Danner announced today.
Morris was joined on the first team by
Kyle Behrens. Five players —
Matt Billups,
Connor Drumm,
Louie LaBate,
Torrey Udall and
Matthias Weissl — earned RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll distinction.
Morris, a 6-foot-6 junior from Durango High School, maintains a 3.64 grade point average in Business Administration-Finance with a minor in Economics. He was a first team RMAC All-Academic performer and a second team All-RMAC West Division selection a year ago. He is also a two-time D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement Award recipient.
Morris ranks among RMAC leaders in field goal shooting (fifth. .578), offensive rebounds (sixth, 2.3 per game), rebounding (ninth, 6.1 per game), defensive rebounds (11th, 3.9 per game) and scoring (16th, 13.6 points per game).
“I think Matt is well deserving of this honor,” said 15th year FLC men's basketball coach
Bob Hofman. “In all facets of his life, he is always trying to serve; he's never trying to receive. Not only does he do a great job in the classroom, he's a warrior on the basketball floor. He also does more community service than anybody I've ever coached. We like to think that Matt represents what Fort Lewis basketball is all about.”
Behrens, a 6-foot-4 senior forward from Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, maintains a 3.54 grade point average in Exercise Science-Sport Administration option with a minor in Coaching. He earned RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll accolades each of the past two seasons and was a D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement Award winner in 2009-10.
Behrens ranks among RMAC leaders in offensive rebounds (seventh, 2.3 per game), rebounding (tenth, 6.1 per game), field goal shooting (11th, .546) and defensive rebounds (12th, 3.8 per game).
“Kyle has been a rock in our program since his freshman year,” said Hofman. “He's a great rebounder, a selfless player, and is much more valuable than his stats ever show. He deserves any honors he receives athletically, academically or community service-wise. Kyle truly epitomizes the type of student athlete every coach dreams of.”
Hofman said the duo continues his program's strong tradition of players who lead by example.
“Kyle and Matt represent the type of student-athlete that will always be a role model for any future recruits,” he said. “In the last 10 years, the cornerstones of our program have been players like Matt and Kyle. That being said, it also helps players coming in to know that they have a high standard to meet when it comes to participation in our program. Obviously, not every player will live up to their high standard, but it sure helps to have role models in our program that we like to think the rest of our players will try to emulate.”
Billups, a six-foot junior guard from Los Lunas (N.M.) High School, carries a 3.74 GPA in Computer Science Information Systems. He ranks 15th in the RMAC in assists (2.6 per game).
Drumm, a 6-foot-5 fifth-year senior forward from Battle Mountain High School in Avon, has a 3.77 GPA with a double major in Business Administration-Marketing and Business Administration-Tourism & Hospitality Management. He was named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll last season and is a two-time D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement Award recipient.
LaBate, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard from Cedar Crest High School in Duvall, Wash., carries a 3.65 GPA in General Biology. He received the D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement Award a year ago.
Udall, a 6-foot-9 sophomore center from Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale, maintains a 3.68 GPA in Business Administration-International Business with a minor in Spanish. During his redshirt freshman campaign of 2009-10, he earned RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll and D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement awards.
Weissl, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard from Salzburg, Austria, who attended Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale, has a 3.68 GPA in Exercise Science-Sport Administration option. He also earned RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll and D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement awards a year ago.
With seven of its players on the RMAC All-Academic teams, the Fort Lewis men's basketball squad comprises 25 percent of the 28 players represented. FLC's two first team players is the most of any of the 14 teams in the conference.
To qualify for Academic All-RMAC, student-athletes must have a GPA of 3.30 or better, be a starter or reserve, and completed two consecutive semesters or three quarters at their current institution. RMAC sports information directors selected first and second teams.
