SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins has been selected to the Division I-AAA ADA Men’s Scholar Athlete Team announced Wednesday.
Perkins helped guide the Zags to a 32-5 record, and the program’s fourth straight appearance in the Sweet 16. He was named First Team All-West Coast Conference after averaging 5.3 assists per game, which ranked fourth in the league. The redshirt junior had a 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio during conference play, which led the WCC. He dished out five or more assists in 22 games this season, while scoring in double-digits 27 times. Perkins averaged 12.3 points per game. He also averaged a team-high 1.2 steals per game, which ranked eighth in the conference.
Perkins is finishing up an undergraduate degree in Sport Management. He has a 3.26 GPA. The Park Hill, Colo. native, was named Academic All-West Coast Conference for the second straight season in 2017-18.
Basketball players from all Division I-AAA ADA member institutions are eligible for these prestigious awards. Each of the nominees was required to maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.20 – on a 4.00 scale – in undergraduate study and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games listed on the nomination form. To be eligible for nomination to the Scholar-Athlete Team, he must have reached junior academic standing at their institution and ineligible athletics transfers are not eligible.
Kevin Vannatta, an accounting major from UNC Asheville, who holds a 3.929 GPA, was named the Division I-AAA ADA Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Zags’ Nigel Williams-Goss received that honor last season.
“Once again, our association is excited to announce this year’s men’s and women’s basketball Scholar-Athlete Teams and Awards recipients,” stated Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team Selection Committee Chair and Athletics Director at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Scott Lazenby. “The quality of all of our nominees exceeded our expectations and made this year’s decision process even more difficult than in years past. Congratulations to all of the honorees.”
A special Review Committee of Division I-AAA Athletics Directors were responsible for selecting the winners. The 2018 Review Committee consisted of: Lazenby (Committee Chair); Amanda Braun, Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Don DiJulia, St. Joseph’s; Bill Husak, Loyola Marymount; Philip Hutcheson, Lipscomb; Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul; Kenneth Siegfied, CSU Bakersfield; Irma Garcia, St. Francis; and Robert Lineburg, Radford.
Information courtesy of Gonzaga Athletics.
