Meier, Averkamp, Gibler Collect I-AAA Scholar-Athlete Team Honors
INDIANAPOLIS – Three Horizon League men’s basketball players – Tony Meier (Wildwood, Mo.) of Milwaukee and Loyola’s Ben Averkamp (Germantown, Wis.) and Walt Gibler (Cincinnati, Ohio) were selected to the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team, which was announced Tuesday.
The senior, who has a 3.646 grade-point average as a business major, is one of just 11 men's players from across the nation named to the team.
"Tony has been a true student-athlete his entire career and it is great to see him recognized with this honor again," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "He has done a great job of taking advantage of his opportunities in the classroom and on the court. He works hard in everything he does and this season was able to overcome injury to make a major impact on our team. He has a bright future ahead of him and will continue to be a great representative for our University."
This season, Meier led the Panthers in scoring in spite of missing the first six games of the year with an injury. He averaged 11.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in helping the Panthers to 20 wins and a berth in the College Basketball Invitational, Milwaukee's second-straight postseason berth.
During this past season, Meier went past 1,000 career points and finished his career just shy of 500 rebounds. He also made 189 three-pointers in his career, playing in 118 games while making 96 starts. Plus, he was a two-time Horizon League Player of the Week honoree.
Thanks to his work in the classroom, Meier earned a spot on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-Region team. He has also been a regular on the Horizon League Honor Roll, UWM Honor Roll and UWM Dean's List throughout his career, plus was named to the 2011 Horizon League Winter All-Academic Team. Meier has earned the Faculty Athletic Representatives Award (highest grade-point average on the team) for two-straight seasons, an honor he is likely to win for a third time when this year's awards are announced in May.
Meier has also been active in the community, including participation in the Wisconsin Association of Leadership Conference, the UWM Fall Dorm Move-In and Panther Fest Welcome and Gobble For Groceries with the Milwaukee Hunger Task Force.
Both Gibler and Averkamp have aspirations of attending medical school once their undergraduate careers are complete.
A 6-foot-8 forward, Averkamp had a remarkable junior season in 2011-12, leading the Ramblers with averages of 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds, while also chipping in 2.6 assists and 0.9 blocks. He will head into his senior campaign needing only 11 points and 27 rebounds to become the 19th player in Loyola history to rack up 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career. This season, Averkamp picked up Second Team All-Horizon League honors to become the program’s first all-league selection since 2006-07 and he scored 20 or more points on 10 occasions, including a career-best, 31-point performance in a stirring, come-from-behind victory at Toledo.
Earlier this year, Averkamp, who is majoring in biology, was named to the Capital One First Team Academic All-District V team, and he is a member of the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll. Averkamp is also a member of Loyola’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Gibler, a senior psychology major, battled injuries in 2011-12, but still managed to post career highs of 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game this winter. The 6-foot-7 forward closed out his career with 1,041 points and 511 rebounds and is part of a select group of only 18 players in Loyola history to accumulate over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Named the Horizon League’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2009-10, Gibler scored in double digits in 11 straight games at one point this season, and he erupted for a career-best 29 points against city rival DePaul on December 7.
A member of the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll, Gibler has been a three-time U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Month selection in his career. Last season, he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court for his outstanding accomplishments in the classroom.
The trio was joined on the I-AAA Scholar-Athlete Team by Luke Patrick Apfeld (Vermont), Travis Bader (Oakland), Taylor Darby (Pepperdine), Matthew Dickey (UNC Asheville), Chase Hallam (Denver), Mick Hedgepeth (Belmont), Scott Saunders (Belmont), and Adam Sollazzo (East Tennessee State).
Basketball players from all Division I-AAA ADA member institutions are eligible for scholar-athlete honors. Each of the nominees was required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials. Candidates must have reached sophomore athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution and have completed a minimum of one full academic year at the nominated institution. The nominees must also have participated in 50 percent of the games played at his designated position.
"The Division I-AAA ADA wants to congratulate this year's scholar-athletes for both their academic and athletics achievements," Tim Hall, chair of the Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team Selection Committee and athletics director at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said. "Our Association is excited to have another platform which recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of Division I student-athletes."
