2018-2019 NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards

2018-2019 NABC Honors Court

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Four Urban Knights, Chance Maxwell, Andrija "Dre" Blatancic, Victor Ruiz de Carranza, and Cobe Williams, have been named to The National Association of Basketball Coaches 2018-2019 Honors Court, as announced Wednesday morning.

"This recognition received from the NABC is a testament to the hard work and focus our student-athletes are putting into the classroom," said head coach Scott Waterman. "We look forward to maintaining this standard for years to come, both in the classroom and on the court."

The quartet of upperclassmen received the award for having a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year and participating as a varsity player. Blatancic led the group with the highest GPA at 3.64 in Communications and Media Technologies. On the court, Blatancic earned All-PacWest First Team honors and was the first men's basketball player in program history to be selected to the All-West Region Team. He led the PacWest in rebounds per game (8.5) and was third in scoring with his 17.8 points per game, which broke the ART U single season record for scoring average. Maxwell was named to the Honors Court for his 3.47 GPA in Motion Pictures and Television.

Williams holds a 3.33 GPA in Music Production and Sound Design for Visual Media. He also broke the career assists and 3-pointers made records in his final season as an Urban Knight and led the team in assists (91) and 3-pointers made (47). Carranza ended the academic year with a cumulative GPA of 3.29 in Communications and Media Technologies. During the season, he averaged the second most rebounds per game (6.5) for ART U, collected 80 assists, 35 steals, and 14 blocks, and averaged 5.9 points per game.  

The individual honors come a week after Academy of Art men's basketball earned its first Team Academic Excellence Award. ART U received the honor for their outstanding academic achievement by earning a cumulative grade point average of over 3.0 as a team for the 2018-2019 season.

This is the first Team Academic Excellence Award and individual honors court recognition for the Urban Knights and comes after one of their most successful seasons on the court, highlighted by their first appearance at the PacWest Championship Tournament in program history.