The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) recently announced the 2016-17 NABC Honors Court, recognizing those men's collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the past season. The NABC Honors Court recognizes the talents and gifts that these men possess off the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom.
In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must meet a high standard of academic criteria. The qualifications are as follows:
- Academically a junior or senior and a varsity player.
- Cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2015-16 academic year.
- Students must have matriculated at least one year at their current institution.
- Member of a NCAA Division I, II, III, or NAIA Division I or II institution with a NABC member coach.
For the second straight season four Foresters were listed, including two-time honorees Mike Rueffer and Andrew Toth, who graduated from the College in May. They were joined by fellow senior Jim Schick and junior Eric Porter. All four players were also named Academic All-Midwest Conference last Friday.
Schick, a business major, ranks 13th in program history with 1,204 career points and eighth with 795 rebounds. He was a First Team All-MWC selection in 2016-17 after leading the league in rebounding. He had earned Second Team All-MWC honors each of the previous two seasons and was voted the team's Most Valuable Player after each of his final three years.
Rueffer was a finance major and, along with Schick, co-captained the Foresters in 2016-17. He averaged 8.2 points per game and shot 40 percent from three-point range and 85 percent from the free throw line as a senior.
Toth, a sociology and anthropology major, averaged 7.6 points per game over the last four seasons and connected on 101 three-pointers during that time.
Porter transferred to the College as a sophomore and is majoring in business. He was the leading scorer on the 2016-17 team with 13.8 points per game and, after just two seasons, already ranks seventh in program history with 121 career three-pointers.
Lake Forest posted a 14-11 overall record and league mark of 11-7 in 2016-17 The Foresters qualified for the four-team MWC Tournament, where they knocked off the conference champion before falling in the final.
National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court (pdf)