M-Basketball: Nyakundi, Samarrippas And Williams Named Team Captains
Nov 7 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2011
DALLAS (SMU) --- SMU men's basketball coach Matt Doherty named Robert Nyakundi, Jeremiah Samarrippas and Shawn Williams as team captains for the 2011-12 season. SMU opens Nov. 11 by hosting in-state foe McMurry at 7 p.m. The Mustangs enter the year following their most successful campaign in more than a decade. SMU recorded its first 20-win season and first postseason bid since 1999-2000; finishing 20-15 and advancing to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) semifinal.
Robert Nyakundi, a senior, was selected Preseason All-C-USA second team by the league's coaches. The forward was also tabbed the Best Shooter in C-USA by The Sporting News and was selected Preseason All-C-USA second team by Lindy's Sports Annuals. In 2010, Nyakundi was selected Third-Team All-C-USA as he averaged 14.3 points (11th C-USA) while setting C-USA and SMU records from 3-point range. Nyakundi led C-USA and was second in the NCAA at 49.7 percent (97-195) from beyond the arc. He set the C-USA record by hitting 54.3 percent on 3-pointers (44-81) during league play. His 97 threes set the SMU record while his average of 2.8 made per game was second in C-USA and 34th in the NCAA. Nyakundi also tied the SMU record by hitting 90.0 percent (72-80) at the free throw line.
Jeremiah Samarrippas, a sophomore guard, played in all 35 games with 30 starts last season. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 assists with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. He shot 38.5 percent on 3-pointers and collected 46 steals; both rank fourth by a freshman at SMU. Samarrippas led the Mustangs in assists 15 times and in steals 16 times.
Shawn Williams, a sophomore guard, is entering his first season at SMU. He enrolled at SMU on Jan. 11, 2011, after transferring from Texas, where he played seven of his first eight games in 2009-10 before an injury ended his freshman season. Williams was ranked as high as the No. 46 prospect nationally and No. 2 in Texas coming out of high school. Due to NCAA transfer rules, he will become eligible when grades are posted at the end of the Fall 2011 semester.
All SMU basketball games are broadcast on the Mustangs Radio Network, which includes the flagship KAAM 770 AM in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and SMUMustangs.com. For ticket information call 214-SMU-GAME (214-768-4263), visit SMUMustangs.com, call the Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone line at 214-373-8000, or go to ticketmaster.com.
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