Big Ten Has Four Individuals, One Team Honored By The NABC

The Big Ten Conference recently posted a release naming four conference players to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court.

Matt Van Dyk and Colby Wollenman of Michigan State were part of the Honors Court. Nebraska standout Shavon Shields and Northwestern's Sanjay Lumpkin also were named to the Honors Court. To be a part of the Honors Court, the player must own a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or higher and be a junior or senior.

Van Dyk joined Michigan State as a walk-on after playing one season for St. Clair County Community College where he averaged 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. In the 2015-2016 season, Van Dyk played in 21 games and accumulated 49 minutes on the court. He scored 23 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and recorded three steals.

Wollenman, who recently finished his senior season, joined the Spartans before the 2011-2012 season as a walk-on. After playing in just 35 minutes through his sophomore season, Wollenman played in 407 combined minutes in his final two seasons. This past season, Wollenman averaged 1.2 points, and 1.7 rebounds in 6.2 minutes a game.

Shields also just completed his senior season as a member of the Cornhuskers. He led the team with 16.8 points a game while finishing first in assists per game (2.7) and second in rebounds (5.1). Shields scored in double digits in 27 of 30 played games last season. Shields recently competed in the NBA Summer League, scoring five points and grabbing three rebounds in 31 minutes of action as a member of the Orlando Blue roster.

Lumpkin started all 32 games in his junior year with the Wildcats. He scored 3.8 points per game and pulled down five rebounds across 23.7 minutes a game. He will look to help Northwestern improve upon its 20-12 (8-10 in conference) 2015-2016 season.

As a team, the Northwestern mean's basketball team earned a Team Academic Excellence award for finishing with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.