George Washington University men's basketball senior John Kopriva became the 10th Academic All-American in program history on Thursday as he was named to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America Men's Basketball Third Team.
A chemistry major, three-year team co-captain and aspiring orthopedic surgeon from Milwaukee, Mr. Kopriva has a 3.93 cumulative grade-point average. He has been named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and GW Athletics Academic Dean's List in each of his seven semesters, including three semesters with a perfect 4.0 GPA. He also was honored on the 2014 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team and repeated as a CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District First Team selection earlier this month.
“I’m very proud of John for what he’s accomplished and how he’s represented our program and the university during his four years at GW,” Coach Mike Lonergan said. “He has excelled in the classroom and as a leader among his peers, improved as a basketball player and helped us establish a culture of success both on and off the court. John embodies everything we look for in a student athlete.”
Along with his standout academics, Mr. Kopriva is enjoying his best season as a Colonial. He has started all 28 games and is averaging career-bests of 6.7 points on 52 percent shooting, 45 percent behind the three-point line, 3.6 rebounds and 26 total blocked shots. His season scoring highs are a pair of 19-point performances in victories over Longwood and Fordham universities.
Mr. Kopriva joins seven former GW men's basketball players recognized with Academic All-America honors a total of nine times: Pat Tallent (1976), Tom Tate (1978), Mike Zagardo (1978), Mike Samson (1979), Steve Frick (1986, 1987), Alexander Koul (1997, 1998) and Yegor Mescheriakov (1999).
