Bucknell University Athletics
Fitzpatrick, Starkey Named to NABC Honors Court
7/23/2014 12:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) this week announced the 2013-14 NABC Honors Court, recognizing those men's collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the past season, and Bucknell was represented by rising senior Cory Starkey and recent graduate Brian Fitzpatrick. The Honors Court recognizes juniors and seniors with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or above.
This is not the first academic honor for Fitzpatrick, who was named to the five-man Patriot League All-Academic Team in 2013-14. Fitzpatrick competed last season as a graduate student and finished the year with a 3.89 GPA 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 last year for his final year of eligibility and started all 30 games at center for the Bison. He was the team's third-leading scorer at 9.6 points per game, he led the team in rebounding at 5.1 per contest, and he ranked second in the Patriot League in field-goal accuracy at 59.0 percent.
Fitzpatrick posted a career-high 12 rebounds in a road win over Boston University, his third career double-digit effort. He has also scored in double figures in 14 games last 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.
Starkey's emergence as a major factor in the frontcourt coincided with Bucknell's strong finish to the 2013-14 regular season. The Bison won their final six games of the year, and Starkey contributed 35 points and 41 rebounds in just over 21 minutes per outing over that span.
After another strong performance during Bucknell's five-game stretch in Europe this summer, Starkey will enter his senior year at Bucknell with a 3.20 GPA in economics.
Close to 900 student-athletes from more than 335 colleges and universities earned NABC Honors Court distinction this year.
In addition, the Bucknell men's basketball team earned a 2013-14 NABC Team Academic Excellence Award. This honor recognizes programs that achieved a combined 3,0 or better team GPA. The Bison tallied a 3.09 team GPA during the spring semester. Eleven of the team's 14 student-athletes on the roster earned at least a 3.0, and three -- Fitzpatrick, Ben Brackney and D.J. MacLeay -- made the Dean's List with a 3.5 or better.
