KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The IUPUI basketball program continued to raise the bar academically as five Jaguars were named to the NABC Honors Court on Tuesday (July 18).
In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must be a junior or senior academically, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher and have matriculated at least one year at their current institution. IUPUI's five honorees put them atop the ten Division I programs in the state of Indiana and tied Youngstown State for tops in the Horizon League.
IUPUI's five honorees were Aaron Brennan, Josh James, D.J. McCall, Matt O'Leary and Grant Sinn. O'Leary earned the award for the second straight year while the other four were first-time honorees.
"I'm really proud of what these guys have done to elevate our program, both on the court and in the classroom. They're honestly role models for the younger guys in that they take care of business and understand what's important about being a student-athlete," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "It kind of started with Matt and trickled down to some of these other guys and I think they've helped change the culture in our program. Now, the younger guys understand that they have to hit the books hard and be willing to put in the work to be the best they can be academically."
Brennan, an Organizational Leadership Supervision major, averaged 8.4 points and 3.5 boards per game this past season. He shot an impressive 50.2 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from three-point range, while also hitting 72.2 percent from the foul line. He capped the year with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in The Summit League Tournament as the Jags blasted North Dakota State in the quarterfinals round.
James, an Exercise Science major, closed his college career by averaging 1.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game this past season. The 6-foot-9 forward made 84 appearances and 13 starts for the Jags, totaling 190 points and knocking down 51 percent of his shots in his collegiate career.
McCall, an Informatics major, appeared in all 32 games this past season while starting 22 times. He averaged 4.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game this past season, while playing just more than 21 minutes per contest. He had three games with at least 10 rebounds and tallied a career-high 21 points at Oral Roberts on Jan. 14.
O'Leary, a Business major, was an honorable mention All-Summit League selection after averaging 13.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this past season. The 6-foot-8 O'Leary canned 50.3 percent of his field goal attempts and a team-high 68 threes at a 44.7 percent clip. He also hit 73 percent from the free throw line and ranked among the team leaders with 31 steals.
Sinn, a Sport Management major, was limited to just eight games in his final collegiate campaign. The Fort Wayne-native earned his degree in just three years after beginning his college career at North Park University in Chicago. Sinn played in 16 games in an IUPUI uniform and connected on his lone collegiate field goal against Urbana on Dec. 12.
