Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Honored for Academics by NABC
7/18/2013 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 18, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's basketball team takes great pride in its commitment to academic excellence, in addition to its success on the hardwood, and this week the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) recognized the Bison for their outstanding work in the classroom. Seniors Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Muscala and Bryson Johnson were all named to the NABC Honors Court, and as a group the Bison received an NABC Team Academic Excellence Award.
This is the first year that the Team Academic Excellence Awards have been handed out, and Bucknell was one of 20 Division I programs to be recognized. The awards recognize teams that compile a 3.0 grade-point average or better during the season.
In the spring 2013 semester, the 15 members of the Bucknell squad combined for a stellar 3.49 GPA. Fourteen of the 15 Bison student-athletes earned at least a 3.0, and nine players made the Dean's List with a GPA of 3.5 or better. Last month the Bison placed a league-high 11 student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll with a minimum 3.2 GPA. The five seniors -- Muscala, Fitzpatrick, Johnson, Colin Klebon and Joe Willman -- earned marks ranging from 3.66 to 3.91.
Fitzpatrick, Muscala and Johnson earned spots on the NABC Honors Court after posting GPAs north of 3.6 in the spring semester. To be eligible for the Honors Court, a student-athlete must be a junior or senior academically and have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or better.
Muscala and Johnson were both named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team and the Capital One Academic All-District Team. Muscala, a management major, went on to earn national Academic All-America honors, and he was also one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. Bucknell's all-time leading scorer, Muscala was also the 2013 Patriot League Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was selected with the 44th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and is now participating with the Atlanta Hawks' Summer League team in Las Vegas.
A two-year co-captain and member of the Bucknell Bison Leadership Academy, Johnson graduated in May as the most prolific 3-point shooter in Bucknell and Patriot League history. He made 323 career 3-pointers, including a record 99 as a sophomore, and he is ranked 10th on Bucknell's career scoring list with 1,384 points. Johnson majored in economics at Bucknell and is pursuing a professional basketball career.
Fitzpatrick has been a key member of the Bison frontcourt rotation for the last two seasons after transferring from the University of Pennsylvania. He has one year of eligibility remaining, and he will play as a graduate student at Bucknell next season. Fitzpatrick was a history major as an undergraduate at Bucknell and was a two-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
Bucknell finished 28-6 in 2012-13, setting school and league records for wins in a season. The Bison became the first team in Patriot League history to garner three straight outright regular-season titles, and they went on to defeat Lafayette in the Patriot League championship game. Bucknell earned a No. 11 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, the second-highest seed in school and league history.
