FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team has been honored with an NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, the National Association of Basketball Coaches announced Tuesday.
 
In addition, Mason graduate student-athletes Blake Buchanan and D'Shawn Schwartz earned inclusion in the NABC Honors Court.
 
Out of 358 Division I programs, Mason is one of just 57 to earn the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award. What's more, the Patriots are one of only 21 out of 122 programs from a top-10 KenPom conference to garner the distinction.
 
To be recognized with a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, a program's student-athletes must post a combined 3.0 GPA or better for an academic year. The NABC Honors Court, meanwhile, includes junior, senior and graduate student men's basketball players who finished the 2021-22 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.
 
In addition to their outstanding contributions on the court, Buchanan and Schwartz excelled in the classroom during the 2021-22 campaign. Schwartz earned a 3.84 GPA in his business analytics graduate program, while Buchanan posted a 3.70 GPA in management. Schwartz also became Mason's first ever A-10 All-Academic Team selection in March.
 
Schwartz recently wrapped up an NBA Summer League schedule with the New York Knicks, while Buchanan will soon begin a front office job with the G League's Greensboro Swarm.