AUSTINTOWN, Ohio - Three senior members of the Capital University men's basketball team were awarded Ohio Athletic Conference All-Academic team honors on Tuesday following voting conducted amongst the OAC's faculty athletics representatives.
Ryan Wood and
Casey Brown were All-Academic honorees while
Jake Fanning was an Honorable Mention selection.
In order to be eligible for OAC All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average. He must also be a starter or key reserve and be in at least his second year of participation in the sport.
Wood, a 6-3 wing out of Pickerington Central High School, was also an All-OAC First Team selection this season while holding a 3.29 cumulative GPA as a marketing major. He ranked second on the team in scoring this season at 14.2 ppg and was named the OAC Player of the Week on Nov. 24 after winning Tournament MVP honors at season-opening Case Western Reserve Alumni Tip-off Tournament. Wood also put up a career-best 32 points on two different occasions this season including Jan. 17 at Otterbein when he became the 29th Crusader to surpass the 1,000-point plateau. He was the second Capital player to be named to the D3Hoops.com National Team of the Week and is also a candidate for All-America recognition. Wood finished his career with 1,195 career points, which is 19th best in program history.
Brown, a 6-5 post from Columbus' Bishop Ready High School, stepped into the starting lineup for the first time this season while holding down a 3.46 GPA as a criminology and sociology double major. The 2009 ESPN The Magazine Second Team All-District pick led the Crusaders and ranked second in the OAC with 7.2 rpg while ranking third in the conference in offensive rebounds (2.6 orpg). Brown posted the first six double-doubles of his career this season while ranking fourth on the team in scoring at 8.9 ppg and second in assists (1.9 apg).
Fanning, a 5-0 point guard from Danbury High School, ranked second all-time in career free throw shooting percentage (.864) after making 59 of 69 attempts from the stripe this season. The exercise science and physical therapy major with a 3.81 GPA played in all 31 games as a senior and started eight while leading the team in assists (2.0 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.75). Fanning posted five double-digit scoring efforts this season including a career-high 19 against Otterbein in the regular-season finale.
Capital enjoyed its best season in school history with a 26-5 overall record a trip to the NCAA Round of 16. The Crusaders made their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and were nationally ranked throughout the entire regular season reaching a program-record mark of No. 5 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. CU had the best home record in the Great Lakes Region at 15-0 and was a host of the NCAA First and Second Rounds at the Capital Center in front of sold out crowds.