Five members of the Wayne State College men’s basketball team were named to the 2016-17 NABC Honors Court announced Tuesday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Wildcat juniors Dovydas Burneika, Jordan Cornelius, Brian Goodwin, Matt Thomas and JJ Zumbrennen each received the academic honor, which goes to a junior or senior player who maintains a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or higher after the 2016-17 academic year. Wayne State was one of eight NSIC schools with players receiving the honor. The five Wildcats were the second-highest number of any NSIC team.
Burneika, a 6-foot-9 junior center from Klaipeda, Lithuania, had a 3.76 GPA majoring in sport management this season. He averaged 0.3 points and 0.4 rebounds per game while appearing in nine contests this season.
Cornelius, a 6-foot-7 junior forward from Sisseton, S.D., maintained a 3.73 GPA majoring in sport management this season and on the court produced 8.9 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds while starting all 29 games for the Wildcats.
Goodwin, a 6-foot-4 junior guard of Brooten, Minn., produced a 3.89 GPA this season majoring in business management. He started all 29 games this season and accounted for 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds a game.
Thomas, a 6-foot junior guard from Elkhorn, majors in applied human and sport psychology and carries a 3.80 GPA. On the court, he started 27 games this season and ranked second on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game.
Zumbrennen, a 6-foot junior guard from Elkhorn, recorded a 3.97 GPA majoring in secondary education and social sciences and played in 27 games with two starts this season averaging 2.1 points a contest.
