Scranton Hoopsters Claim Academic Honors

SCRANTON, Pa. - Three University of Scranton basketball players were honored for their achievements in the classroom today.

Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede's College and Ryan Kirk (Lansdale, Pa./LaSalle College), from the men's team, along with Kathleen Daly (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) of the women's team, were named to the ESPN The Magazine District II all-Academic team.

The team is voted upon by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). In order to be eligible, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore, be a starter or key reserve, and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2-or-higher.

District II is comprised of student-athletes from the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Bicknell, who holds a 3.57 cumulative grade point average in biochemistry, earned first-team honors after picking up a berth on the second-team a year ago. He, along with the other first-team selections from the eight districts from across the country, is now eligible for Academic all-America honors.

In this week's Landmark Conference statistical rankings, Bicknell leads the league in rebounding (11.5) and field goal percentage (.583), is tied for sixth in blocked shots (0.8), tied for seventh in scoring (14.0), 11th in free throw percentage (.724), 13th in assists (2.0), and 18th in minutes played (28.05). He is also sixth in rebounding in the most recent Division III national rankings.

Entering this weekend's Landmark Conference home series against Drew University (Saturday, February 9) and the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Sunday, February 10), Bicknell is third in field goal percentage (.544) and 14th in rebounding (670) in University of Scranton history. He also has 28 "double-doubles" in points and rebounds in his career.

Kirk, who holds a 3.86 grade point average in management, was named second-team. He has started 19 of 20 games so far this season and is currently averaging 6.1 points, 3.5 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game. He has scored in double-figures four times, including a season-high 15-point effort in the Royals' 72-70 victory in overtime against Albright College on January 15 in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Like Bicknell, Kirk enters this weekend's games ranked among Scranton's all-time leaders. He has now made 86 3-point field goals in his career, which is the 10th most in Royals' history.

Daly picks up third-team honors for the first time in her career. She holds a 3.7 grade point average while pursuing a degree in marketing. She currently leads the Lady Royals in rebounding (4.9), is second in scoring (10.2), minutes played (26.7) and field goal percentage (.465), and third in assists (2.1) and steals (1.9).

Daly is also ranked in the six following statistical categories in the Landmark Conference: field goal percentage (7th), steals (10th), assists (tied for 12th), rebounding (14th), scoring (15th), and minutes played (19th).