Four Men's Hoopsters Named Academic All-WAC
Mar 31 | Men's Basketball
DENVER (SMU) - Four members of the SMU men?s basketball team have been named to the 2003-04 Academic All-WAC Team, the conference announced Wednesday, March 31.
Lavardicus Atkins, Eric Castro, Donatas Rackauskas and Trent Redden were tabbed for the team based on their classroom achievements. With four played named to the squad, SMU led all WAC schools in honorees and doubled the number of players placed on the team by the second-place school, Hawaii (2).
This marks the third satright year that Castro has been so honored. The junior is also a two-time member of the Verizon Academic All-District Team. Atkins, a senior, was also honored in 2000-01. Since 2000-01, SMU men's basketball student-athletes have earned an oustanding eight All-WAC awards.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must have completed at least one academic year, have at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team?s contests.
These awards arrive in the shadow of other academic honors as earlier this season, the SMU men's basketball team had the nation's second-best graduation rate for the second-straight year, according to a report released by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Among the 117 Division I-A institutions, SMU trailed only Stanford in posting an 83 percent graduation rate for student-athletes who entered school from 1993-94 to 1996-97. The national average for men's basketball players over that four-year period was 42 percent.
Graduation rates were tabulated and released by the NCAA in its 2003 NCAA Graduation Rates Report. Among WAC schools, SMU's closest competitor was Rice at 58 percent, and among Texas schools, Baylor was second at 64 percent.
2003-04 Academic All-WAC Men?s Basketball Team SMU Lavardicus Atkins, Sr., 3.23, Financial Consulting Eric Castro, Jr., 3.86, Accounting Donatas Rackauskas, So., 3.76, General Business Trent Redden, So., 3.96, Accounting Boise State Coby Karl, So., 3.33, Undeclared Hawaii Paul Jesinskis, Sr., 3.22, Economics Michael Kuebler, Sr., 3.67, General Business Nevada Seth Taylor, So., 3.65, Business San Jose State Brett Lilly, Sr., 3.37, Business Administration UTEP Thomas Gehrke, Jr., 3.52, Kinesiology Tulsa Jason Parker, Sr., 3.52, Economics 2003 NCAA Men's Basketball Graduation Rates 1. Stanford - 100% 2. SMU - 83% 3. Miami (Fla.) - 78% 4. Kansas - 73% 5. Middle Tennessee State - 71% 6. Tulane - 69% 7. Duke - 67% 7. West Virginia - 67% 9. Baylor - 64% 9. Mississippi State - 64% 9. Notre Dame - 64%
