Brian Fitzpatrick Named to Academic All-Patriot League Team
3/4/2014 4:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell graduate student Brian Fitzpatrick (Cheshire, Conn./Northfield Mount Hermon) earned one of the five spots on the men's basketball Academic All-Patriot League Team on Tuesday. Fitzpatrick, who carries a 3.89 graduate grade-point average, joined Lafayette's Seth Hinrichs and Joey Ptasinski, Loyola's Franz Rassman and American's Jesse Reed on the team. Reed was named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Fitzpatrick is working toward a master's degree in college student personnel after double-majoring in history and psychology as an undergraduate. The 6'8” center began his college career and Penn before transferring to Bucknell. After sitting out the NCAA-mandated transfer year, Fitzpatrick spent his junior and senior year in the frontcourt rotation as a backup behind all-stars Mike Muscala and Joe Willman.
Fitzpatrick returned this year for his final year of eligibility and has started all 29 games at center for the Bison. He is the team's third-leading scorer at 9.4 points per game, he leads the team in rebounding at 5.0 per contest, and he ranks fourth in the Patriot League in field-goal accuracy at 59.2 percent.
In last week's road win over first-place Boston University, Fitzpatrick posted a career-high 12 rebounds, his third career double-digit effort. He has also scored in double figures in 14 games this season, with a personal best of 18 at Mount St. Mary's. Fitzpatrick had a 12-game stretch during league play where he shot 54-for-76 (.711) from the field.
The Academic All-Patriot League Team began in 2011, and Bucknell has had at least one men's basketball student-athlete recognized each year. Muscala made the team three straight years from 2011-13, and Bryson Johnson did so in 2012 and 2013.
The Academic All-Patriot League Team honors student-athletes who excel in their sport and the classroom, and the size equals the sport's first-team All-Patriot League composition. Sports information directors, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes, select the academic award winners.
To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key player in his/her sport. Freshmen or students in their first academic year at their school are not eligible for the honor.
Bucknell is 16-13 overall and 11-7 in the Patriot League heading into postseason play. The fourth-seeded Bison will host No. 5 Army in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
