Killen named C-USA All-Academic
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:37 pmJON KILLEN NAMED TO CONFERENCE USA ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Student-Athletes Recognized for Excellence on the Court and in the Classroom
IRVING, Texas – SMU senior Jon Killen was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team for the second straight year. He is one of three seniors and two juniors named to the 2008 Conference USA Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team, which consists of five student-athletes that have earned a 3.2 cumulative grade point average or better and are a starter or key reserve on the men’s basketball team.
Two repeat selections, seniors Paulius Packevicius of Rice and Killen of SMU, were named to the all-academic team. Classmate Taylor Gagnon of East Carolina earned a spot this season, along with Tulsa junior Sam Mitchell and UAB junior Reggie Huffman.
Killen has started all 28 games for the Mustangs so far this season, averaging 13.1 points, and 4.96 assists per game (the second-best distribution in C-USA). The native of Arlington, Texas, has also pocketed 1.54 steals per game to rank fifth in the conference. He is a business management and sociology major with a 3.45 GPA. In his second season as team captain, Killen serves as SMU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was the recipient of the Meyer Brothers’ Award at SMU for combined academic success, athletic achievement and community involvement.
In C-USA games, Killen is leading the league in assists (5.80), second in minutes (36.00), third in 3-pointers (3.33), seventh in scoring (15.5), seventh in 3FG percentage (.435), tied for 10th in steals (1.33), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.61), and 14th in field goal percentage (.482). He was named Conference USA Player of the Week on Jan. 28. His 12 assists against Houston on Jan. 16 are tied for the most in a league game this season. Overall, he is averaging 4.96 assists (2nd in C-USA), shooting 41.0 percent from 3-point range (7th in C-USA), making 2.61 3-pointers per game (3rd in C-USA) and has a 1.62 assist/turnover ratio (9th in C-USA).
Killen has 87 assists in league play this season and is just three away from matching the sixth-best total in Conference USA history. He would need 10 assists at Rice to tie for fifth-best all-time.
Killen is already in the top ten at SMU for career steals (8th at 143) and career 3-pointers (8th at 117). He is 11th in career assists with 356 and needs 7 to move into tenth. He would be just the third Mustang to be in the top ten in all three categories, joining Jeryl Sasser and Bryan Hopkins. Sasser is 3rd in assists (469), 4th in steals (197), and 6th in 3FG (133). Hopkins is 1st in steals (225), and 2nd in 3FG (256), 8th in assists (396).
Packevicius is a three-time selection to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll with a 3.58 grade point average in economics and managerial studies. Packevicius played in the Owls first 18 games of the season, before suffering a knee injury during a January practice. At the time of his injury, he was averaging 11.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game (second in Conference USA). Packevicius was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Gagnon has made 14 starts in 23 games played for the Pirates this season. He is averaging 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. A 6-foot-6 forward, Gagnon was awarded a scholarship this season after spending three years on the team as a walk-on. The Greenville, N.C., native is a four-time selection to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll with a 3.59 GPA in finance.
Tulsa’s Mitchell has played in all 28 games for the Golden Hurricane. He is a three-time member of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Athletics Director’s Honor Roll. Mitchell, a finance major from Bartlesville, Okla., maintains a 3.4 GPA and is averaging 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in more than 11 minutes per game.
In his first year with the Blazers, Huffman has played in all 30 games with 26 starts. He is averaging 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds (second on the team) per game, with a team-best five double-doubles. He scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in UAB’s 101-99 win over Houston on Feb. 20, then followed up with a career-high 14 rebounds in the Blazers’ next game. The Birmingham, Ala., native has a 3.28 GPA as a communications studies major.
All five student-athletes will lead their respective teams into the 2008 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Championship, March 12-15 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.
2008 CONFERENCE USA MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Name School Class GPA Major
Taylor Gagnon East Carolina Senior 3.59 Finance
Paulius Packevicius Rice Senior 3.58 Economics and Managerial Studies
Jon Killen SMU Senior 3.45 Business-Management/Sociology
Sam Mitchell Tulsa Junior 3.40 Finance
Reggie Huffman UAB Junior 3.28 Communications Studies
Student-Athletes Recognized for Excellence on the Court and in the Classroom
IRVING, Texas – SMU senior Jon Killen was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team for the second straight year. He is one of three seniors and two juniors named to the 2008 Conference USA Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team, which consists of five student-athletes that have earned a 3.2 cumulative grade point average or better and are a starter or key reserve on the men’s basketball team.
Two repeat selections, seniors Paulius Packevicius of Rice and Killen of SMU, were named to the all-academic team. Classmate Taylor Gagnon of East Carolina earned a spot this season, along with Tulsa junior Sam Mitchell and UAB junior Reggie Huffman.
Killen has started all 28 games for the Mustangs so far this season, averaging 13.1 points, and 4.96 assists per game (the second-best distribution in C-USA). The native of Arlington, Texas, has also pocketed 1.54 steals per game to rank fifth in the conference. He is a business management and sociology major with a 3.45 GPA. In his second season as team captain, Killen serves as SMU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was the recipient of the Meyer Brothers’ Award at SMU for combined academic success, athletic achievement and community involvement.
In C-USA games, Killen is leading the league in assists (5.80), second in minutes (36.00), third in 3-pointers (3.33), seventh in scoring (15.5), seventh in 3FG percentage (.435), tied for 10th in steals (1.33), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.61), and 14th in field goal percentage (.482). He was named Conference USA Player of the Week on Jan. 28. His 12 assists against Houston on Jan. 16 are tied for the most in a league game this season. Overall, he is averaging 4.96 assists (2nd in C-USA), shooting 41.0 percent from 3-point range (7th in C-USA), making 2.61 3-pointers per game (3rd in C-USA) and has a 1.62 assist/turnover ratio (9th in C-USA).
Killen has 87 assists in league play this season and is just three away from matching the sixth-best total in Conference USA history. He would need 10 assists at Rice to tie for fifth-best all-time.
Killen is already in the top ten at SMU for career steals (8th at 143) and career 3-pointers (8th at 117). He is 11th in career assists with 356 and needs 7 to move into tenth. He would be just the third Mustang to be in the top ten in all three categories, joining Jeryl Sasser and Bryan Hopkins. Sasser is 3rd in assists (469), 4th in steals (197), and 6th in 3FG (133). Hopkins is 1st in steals (225), and 2nd in 3FG (256), 8th in assists (396).
Packevicius is a three-time selection to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll with a 3.58 grade point average in economics and managerial studies. Packevicius played in the Owls first 18 games of the season, before suffering a knee injury during a January practice. At the time of his injury, he was averaging 11.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game (second in Conference USA). Packevicius was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Gagnon has made 14 starts in 23 games played for the Pirates this season. He is averaging 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. A 6-foot-6 forward, Gagnon was awarded a scholarship this season after spending three years on the team as a walk-on. The Greenville, N.C., native is a four-time selection to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll with a 3.59 GPA in finance.
Tulsa’s Mitchell has played in all 28 games for the Golden Hurricane. He is a three-time member of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Athletics Director’s Honor Roll. Mitchell, a finance major from Bartlesville, Okla., maintains a 3.4 GPA and is averaging 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in more than 11 minutes per game.
In his first year with the Blazers, Huffman has played in all 30 games with 26 starts. He is averaging 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds (second on the team) per game, with a team-best five double-doubles. He scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in UAB’s 101-99 win over Houston on Feb. 20, then followed up with a career-high 14 rebounds in the Blazers’ next game. The Birmingham, Ala., native has a 3.28 GPA as a communications studies major.
All five student-athletes will lead their respective teams into the 2008 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Championship, March 12-15 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.
2008 CONFERENCE USA MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Name School Class GPA Major
Taylor Gagnon East Carolina Senior 3.59 Finance
Paulius Packevicius Rice Senior 3.58 Economics and Managerial Studies
Jon Killen SMU Senior 3.45 Business-Management/Sociology
Sam Mitchell Tulsa Junior 3.40 Finance
Reggie Huffman UAB Junior 3.28 Communications Studies