Men's basketball recognized for academic excellence
7/12/2017 8:24:00 AM | Men's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Montana men's basketball team was recognized for its academic merit on Wednesday, earning the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award for the second year in a row. NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA teams with cumulative grade-point averages of 3.0 or better for the 2016-17 season garnered the recognition.
"Back when I was coaching high school and started my non-profit, Fastbreak, I always talked about basketball being the tool to give young men a break in life," UM head coach Travis DeCuire said. "I've never given up on that as I've transitioned throughout my career. Academics have always been very important to me. This honor is huge for us because we are among an elite group of Division I schools."
Among the list of institutions recognized, Montana is one of 43 Division I programs, including just one of three from the Big Sky Conference.
While DeCuire is proud of his team's strong marks in the classroom, even bigger he said, is the team's 100-percent graduation rate.
"Every senior who has touched the floor for us has walked away with a diploma," he said. "To me, it's helping these guys become productive men in society as they move on – whether that's with a ball in their hand or without."
Perhaps that philosophy is best seen in recent graduate Brandon Gfeller, who concluded his playing career as a four-time Academic All-Big Sky selection and was UM's 2016-17 male Big Sky Scholar-Athlete representative. He graduated with an accounting degree and is now pursing grad school. Gfeller was also involved in the community – a 2017 Allstate NABC Good Works Team nominee – and ranks among UM's all-time greats with 203 career three-pointers.
The men's basketball program had five Academic All-Big Sky selections this spring, including returners Michael Oguine and Fabijan Krslovic, who posted a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2016-17 academic year.
"Back when I was coaching high school and started my non-profit, Fastbreak, I always talked about basketball being the tool to give young men a break in life," UM head coach Travis DeCuire said. "I've never given up on that as I've transitioned throughout my career. Academics have always been very important to me. This honor is huge for us because we are among an elite group of Division I schools."
Among the list of institutions recognized, Montana is one of 43 Division I programs, including just one of three from the Big Sky Conference.
While DeCuire is proud of his team's strong marks in the classroom, even bigger he said, is the team's 100-percent graduation rate.
"Every senior who has touched the floor for us has walked away with a diploma," he said. "To me, it's helping these guys become productive men in society as they move on – whether that's with a ball in their hand or without."
Perhaps that philosophy is best seen in recent graduate Brandon Gfeller, who concluded his playing career as a four-time Academic All-Big Sky selection and was UM's 2016-17 male Big Sky Scholar-Athlete representative. He graduated with an accounting degree and is now pursing grad school. Gfeller was also involved in the community – a 2017 Allstate NABC Good Works Team nominee – and ranks among UM's all-time greats with 203 career three-pointers.
The men's basketball program had five Academic All-Big Sky selections this spring, including returners Michael Oguine and Fabijan Krslovic, who posted a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2016-17 academic year.
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