On top of their best season in seven years, six members of the men’s basketball team received a conference-high eight postseason basketball awards, the league announced Tuesday.
It’s the second-most awards for GW in program history and the most since 2005-2006.
Sophomore Kevin Larsen earned the Chris Daniels Most Improved Player award for his improvement from his freshman season. After averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds a season ago, Larsen increased his averages this season to 11.3 points and 7.1 rebounds. Larsen is the first GW player to earn the award since Pops Mensah-Bonsu did it back in 2004.
Senior Isaiah Armwood took home two awards Tuesday, earning Second Team All-Conference honors, as well as a spot on the conference All-Defensive team. “The Blockness Monster” finished the regular season ranked second in the A-10 in rebounds at 8.7 per game and sixth in blocks, totaling 49 for the year. On the offensive end, Armwood is averaging 12.3 points per game, which ranks 23rd in the conference. Armwood finished the regular season tied for third with 10 double-double’s on the season.
Like Armwood, sophomore Patricio Garino also picked up two awards Tuesday, joining Armwood on the All-Defensive team and being selected to Third Team All-Conference. Playing just 23 games for GW due to a finger injury, Garino was responsible for picking up the slack left after sophomore Kethan Savage’s regular-season ending injury. Garino did just that, finishing the regular season averaging 12.3 points, while shooting 57.5 percent form the field, good enough for sixth best in the conference. On the defensive end, Garino, who was a preseason pick to take home all-defensive honors, averaged 1.6 steals per game, ranking fourth in the conference.
Joining Garino on Third Team All-Conference is graduate student Maurice Creek. Creek was the offensive general for the Colonials all season, leading the team at 14.6 points per game. Throughout the season, Creek’s high-scoring efforts were complemented by his scoring from beyond the arc, where he ranked seventh in the conference at 40.9 percent from three. Creek averaged 2.6 three point field goals per game, ranking fourth in the conference, and finished the season with 74 made threes. In GW’s last regular season game against Fordham, Creek knocked down a career-high six three’s.
Topping off the list for GW were junior John Kopriva and senior Nemanja Mikic, who were tabbed to the conference’s All-Academic Team. With the two selections, GW becomes the most decorated academic program in league history, with 15 selections to the All-Academic team since its debut in 1991. Mikic also becomes the 13th A-10 student-athlete to earn All-Academic Team honors three times in a career. Earlier this season, Kopriva was named to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District 2 First Team.
Third-seeded GW will head to Brooklyn, N.Y., for the Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals this Friday at 9 p.m.
