NABC RELEASE | NABC HONORS COURT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Suffolk men's basketball and a quartet of Rams were recognized by the National Association Basketball Coaches (NABC) for academic excellence. The blue-and-gold team grabbed the Team Academic Excellence Award, while Devin Dzikas, Evan Cook, Jack McDonnell and Liam Cunnie were named to the NABC Honors Court.
It is the first time since 2021-22 that both the Suffolk squad and individuals were bestowed with the respective distinctions.
The team academic award, which was created by the NABC Committee on Academics, has honored institutions in the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA for academic achievements over the last decade with the Rams appearing on the list seven of the last eight seasons. All of Suffolk's recognitions have come in the Jeff Juron era.
In order to achieve NABC Team Academic Excellence Award status, which started in 2012-13, programs must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better during the 2023-24 academic year. Suffolk's 18-player roster combined for a 3.296 cumulative GPA over the last season.
The blue-and-gold, who earned its first NABC Team Academic Excellence Award distinction in 2016-17, is one of 360 programs overall to earn the feat and is one of four Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) teams to earn the feat this season along with Roger Williams, Wentworth and Western New England.
The NABC Honors Court, meanwhile, includes junior, senior and graduate student men's basketball players who finished the 2023-24 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.
All of Suffolk's honorees were first time recipients. The four Rams recognized in a single season are the most since 2019-20 when a quartet of players in blue-and-gold picked up the feat.
Suffolk is one of four CCC programs represented on the 2023-24 list as Roger Williams (9), Wentworth (6) and Western New England (5) saw student-athletes on the list. Overall, 2,100 players earned spots on the NABC Honors Court.
NABC has been honoring student-athletes academic achievements with the Honor Court since the 2006-07 season. Suffolk's first nods came in 2008-09. Since Juron took over the program in 2015-16, 20 Rams have combined for 27 NABC Honor Court awards. Overall, the blue-and-gold has seen 22 student-athletes grab 31 NABC honors Court accolades.