Feb. 26, 2004
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Santa Clara University standouts Jim Howell (Newport, Ore.) and Ethan Rohde (Seattle, Wash.) have been named to the 2004 West Coast Conference All-Academic Men's Basketball Team, the league office announced on Wednesday evening.
To be considered for the honor, student-athletes much carry a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, play in at least 50 percent of their team's games and be a significant contributor. In addition, honorees must have completed at least one year of eligiblity at their WCC institution.
Howell, who's season ended two weeks ago after suffering a broken foot during practice in Malibu, Calif., is a two-time team captain and earned honorable mention all-WCC honors last season as a junior. Considered undersized for his center position, he is one of the league's top rebounders and is among the top shot blockers in Santa Clara history. This season, Howell doubled his steals and blocked shots numbers from his previous three seasons combined.
A former walk-on who earned a scholarship, Rohde this season entered the school's career thre-point attempts listings. A starter in 17 games this season, 43 of his 50 field goals this season are from behind the three-point arc. He is averaging 5.7 points per game.
The WCC All-Academic teams honor some of the league's finest examples of the consummate scholar-athlete. Near the completion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each of the participating sponsored sports.
2004 MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Name School Class Pos GPA Major
Karl Aaker, Portland - 3.01 Business
Kyle Bankhead, Gonzaga - 3.31 Sports Management
Jason Dickens, LMU - 3.25 Business Admin.
Andreas Gahlmann, Portland - 3.89 Bio-chemistry
Dustin Geddis, Portland - 3.33 Management
Jim Howell, Santa Clara - 3.07 Business Finance
Keith Jarbo, Pepperdine - 3.71 Sports Medicine
Ethan Rohde, Santa Clara - 3.21 Finance
Blake Stepp, Gonzaga - 3.24 Business Admin.