Trio Named to Capital One Academic All‐District Team
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Khiry Hankins of Holy Family; Nikola Otovic of Caldwell and Jimmy Schmitt of Felician all have been honored on the Capital One Academic All-District Team for their extraordinary efforts in the classroom and on the court.
CoSIDA's District I for NCAA Division II is comprised of all members of the CACC, East Coast Conference, and Northeast-10 Conference.
Nikola Otovic, a senior guard for the Cougars, is biology major at Caldwell who received the Academic Achievement Award from the Division II Athletics Directors Association in 2010. On the court, he currently leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging a career-best 16.9 points per game to rank sixth in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Otovic has scored at least 20 points in a game six times this season, including a 34-point performance at Dominican on Nov. 30. Last year, Otovic received all-CACC honorable mention after averaging 13.3 points per contest. In 98 career games at Caldwell, he has scored 911 points to rank 17th on the Cougars' all-time scoring list.
Jimmy Schmitt, a senior guard for the Falcons has played in all 19 games, starting 14, for Felician (6-13 overall, 3-8 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference). He is averaging 4.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and a team-high 2.3 assists. Schmitt leads the CACC in assist/turnover ratio at 2.9 (44 assists, 15 turnovers). Schmitt transferred to Felician after two seasons at Bergen Community College, where he was a starter for the 2009-10 team that went 34-1 and won a regional championship. In three semesters at Felician, he owns a 3.97 grade-point average majoring in mathematics education. Schmitt is also the vice president of the Golden Falcons' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Khiry Hankins, a junior guard for the Tigers recently scored a career-high 35 points against the University of the Sciences on Jan. 26. During that game he drained a career-best nine three-pointers (9-15), which is tied for the second most three-pointers made in a single game in program history. Hankins has scored 30-plus points three times this season. Among the national leaders in Division II, Hankins currently ranks second in three-pointers made per game as he is averaging 3.6 per contest. The junior guard is also ranked third in the country in total three-pointers made with 69. In the classroom, Hankins sports a 3.42 grade-point average and is a Management Marketing major.
The 2012 Capital One Academic All-District Men's Basketball Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Capital One became the entitlement rights holder to CoSIDA's Academic All-America teams programs in 2011.
First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first, second and third team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
