LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Three Washington State University men’s basketball student-athletes earned 2018 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball All-Academic honors, conference commissioner, Larry Scott, announced Thursday.
Sophomore Jeff Pollard was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team, his classmate, Malachi FlynThree Washington State University men’s basketball student-athletes earned 2018 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball All-Academic honors, conference commissioner, Larry Scott, announced Thursday.n was named to the second team and redshirt freshman Milan Acquaah earned honorable mention. The honors are the first for all three who are each in their first year of eligibility for the accolades.
The three honorees marks the third time under fourth-year head coach Ernie Kent that multiple student-athletes have picked up all-academic honors, and the second time three or more have. Prior to Kent arriving on the Palouse, a Cougar hadn’t been named first team all-academic since 2011. Pollard becomes the 18th Cougar to earn first team all-academic for the 28th time.
WSU tied for second-most honorees with three, behind Oregon State which had four. Stanford and Utah each had three make the all-academic teams as well. The Cougars had the second-most honorees on the first and second teams (two), behind only the Beavers with three.
A native of Bountiful, Utah, Pollard is undeclared with a 3.72 grade point average. He intends on double majoring in business and communication. Pollard has appeared in 26 games this year, including three starts, averaging 3.8 points and 1.8 rebounds an outing.
Flynn, a native of Tacoma, Wash., is also undeclared with a 3.48 GPA. He intends to major in sport management. Flynn has started 29 of WSU’s 30 games this season, as he’s second on the team with 15.6 points per game, adding a team-best and ranking eighth in the Pac-12 with 4.3 assists per game. Flynn has made 74 3-pointers this season and is on pace to finish in the WSU top-10 for single-season 3-pointers.
A native of Bakersfield, Calif., Acquaah is also undeclared with a 3.04 GPA and intends to major in sport management. He is in his first year playing after redshirting as a true freshman in 2016-17. He’s appeared in 29 games this season with nine starts, averaging 4.7 points and 2.0 assists per game.
One team of five student-athletes make up the first team, followed by the next five making up the second team. All others nominated receive honorable mention accolades. To be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor and in at least their second year at the respective school.
2017-18 PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC – MEN’S BASKETBALL
First Team
Name, School, Yr., GPA, Major
Nick Hamilton, CAL, Sr., 3.75, Media studies & legal studies
Jeff Pollard, WSU, So., 3.72, Undeclared
Dorian Pickens***, STAN, Sr., 3.42, Communication
Gligorije Rakocevic**, OSU, Jr., 3.70, Digital communication arts
Stephen Thompson Jr.** OSU Jr. 3.53 Digital communication arts
Second Team
Name, School, Yr., GPA, Major
Malachi Flynn, WSU, So., 3.48, Undeclared
Jayce Johnson, UTAH, So., 3.49, Psychology
Chimezie Metu, USC, Jr., 3.18, Law, history & culture
Tres Tinkle**, OSU, R-So., 3.42, Speech communication
Parker Van Dyke**, UTAH, Jr., 3.26, Economics
Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Honorable Mention All-Academic
Milan Acquaah (WSU, R-Fr.), Robert Cartwright (STAN, R-Jr.), David Collette (UTAH, Sr.), Drew Eubanks (OSU, Jr.), Shannon Evans II (ASU, Sr.), Kodi Justice (ASU, Sr.), Jordan McLaughlin (USC, Sr.), Alex Olesinski (UCLA, R-So.), Kodye Pugh (STAN, R-Fr.), Keith Smith (ORE, So.), Thomas Welsh (UCLA, Sr.).
*** three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree; ** two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree
