UE Men’s Basketball earns NABC academic recognition

Four student-athletes and UE team earn accolades

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Thursday, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the recipients of the 2022-23 NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards and NABC Honors Court, representing outstanding achievement in the classroom by men’s college basketball teams and student-athletes.

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize men’s basketball programs that completed the 2022-23 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The NABC Honors Court, meanwhile, includes junior, senior and graduate student men’s basketball players who finished the 2022-23 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.

Completing the 2022-23 academic year with a 3.073 GPA, the Purple Aces earned the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award.  Nine players from the squad wrapped up the year with a GPA above a 3.0.

“At the University of Evansville, we take great pride in providing a quality education to all our students.  Within our program, we want student athletes who compete in the classroom just like we expect them to compete on the basketball floor,” UE head men’s basketball coach David Ragland said.  “Our goal is to win championships on and off the court.  In order to win championships, you have to have championship people.  Championship people have great habits and push to be the best version of themselves daily in all aspects of life.”

Four UE student-athletes earned a spot on the NABC Honors Court with Antoine Smith Jr., Kenny Strawbridge Jr., Blaise Beauchamp and Marvin Coleman III earning the recognition.

“We want to congratulate Antoine, Blaise, Kenny and Marvin for their academic accomplishments,” Ragland added.  “We are extremely proud of the hard work our student athletes put into the classroom this past year.”