University of North Carolina senior forward Tyler Zeller has been named the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for men’s basketball, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Zeller, a business administration major with a 3.62 grade point average, becomes the first Tar Heel to earn first-team Academic All-America honors in two seasons. Averaging 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots, he has led the seventh-ranked Tar Heels to a 24-4 overall record and 11-2 mark in ACC play.
“This is a great honor and something I have worked for my entire four years at Carolina,” says Zeller. “To be the first Tar Heel to win this award at a school with so much tradition and prestige adds to the honor. It truly means a lot to my family. My parents brought me up with the belief that academics are moreimportant than athletics, so as much as it means to me, it may mean even more to my mom and dad. And I thank them for the guidance and support they’ve always given my brothers and me.”
Zeller, a three-time Academic All-ACC selection, was the 2011 recipient of the Skip Prosser Award as the ACC’s top men’s basketball scholar-athlete.
The Washington, Ind., native currently leads the ACC in offensive rebounds, and is second in field goal percentage and double-doubles, third in rebounding, seventh in scoring and eighth in blocked shots. He has won Carolina’s defensive player of the game award a team-high 11 times and scored 20 or more points seven times. He is Carolina’s leading active career scorer with 1,316 points.
“We are ecstatic for Tyler and his family,” says UNC head coach Roy Williams. “He is the ultimate example of a true student-athlete. We’ve been very honored to work with Tyler these past four years and have seen the attention and commitment he’s given to both phases of being a student-athlete. He’s a first-class young man who comes from a great family and is an outstanding basketball player and student.”
Carolina’s first-team Academic All-Americas include Billy Cunningham (1965), Charles Scott (1970), Dennis Wuycik (1972), Steve Previs (1972), Tom LaGarde (1976), Steve Hale (1986), Eric Montross (1993) and Zeller (2011 and 2012).
Zeller is the seventh ACC player to earn multiple first-team Academic All-America honors. The others include three-time honorees Mike Gminski (Duke) and Tom McMillen (Maryland) and two-time recipients Shane Battier (Duke), Todd Fuller (NC State), Terry Gannon (NC State) and Jim Spanarkel (Duke).
An early childhood education major with a 3.60 grade point average, Delle Donne has led Delaware to the best season in school history. The Wilmington, Del. native has led the No. 9 Blue Hens to a 24-1 record and their first-ever national ranking. A two-time All-America who averages 28.1 points per game, she is the leading scorer in NCAA Division I.
Joining Zeller on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division I men’s basketball first team are Ohio State guard Aaron Craft, Saint Mary’s (Calif.) guard Matthew Dellavedova, Wofford guard Brad Loesing and Duke forward Mason Plumlee.
The five members of the Capital One Academic All-America Division I men’s basketball first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.62.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, visit www.cosida.com.