Louisville’s Chinanu Onuaku Earns Academic All-District Honors
February 11, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Academic Services
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- University of Louisville forward/center Chinanu Onuaku has been named to the 2016 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 2 Men's Basketball first team, which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
The Academic All-District teams include the student-athletes divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. Onuaku will advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
A sophomore communication major from Lanham, Md., Onuaku has a 3.42 cumulative grade point average at UofL. He is among four ACC players to achieve the honor, which was also bestowed upon Duke's Grayson Allen, Pittsburgh's Rafael Maia, and North Carolina's Marcus Paige. Onuaku is one of only seven sophomores nationally to achieve the honor.
Onuaku (9.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has continued to improve this season. In league games only, Onuaku is sixth in the ACC in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and second in blocked shots (2.0 bpg) while shooting 61.5 percent from the field.
He has eight double-doubles on the season and 10 for his career, including six consecutive in his first six ACC games. He is the first Cardinal with six straight double-doubles in 22 years, since Clifford Rozier had nine straight during the 1993-94 season. He leads the team with 25 dunks this season. He has made 15-of-21 free throws in his last seven games (.714). His season percentage is up nearly 12 points from last season's figure.
Onuaku and the 13th-ranked Cardinals (19-5, 8-3 ACC) have had a successful year both on the court and academically. In the 2015 fall semester, 13 of 15 men's basketball student-athletes achieved a 3.0 or better grade point average. The Cardinals posted a collective 3.36 GPA for the 2015 fall semester, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved in 2013.
Last season, Louisville senior forward Wayne Blackshear earned Academic All-America second team honors and senior guard Peyton Siva was a 2013 Academic All-America first-team selection.
The Academic All-District teams include the student-athletes divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. Onuaku will advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
A sophomore communication major from Lanham, Md., Onuaku has a 3.42 cumulative grade point average at UofL. He is among four ACC players to achieve the honor, which was also bestowed upon Duke's Grayson Allen, Pittsburgh's Rafael Maia, and North Carolina's Marcus Paige. Onuaku is one of only seven sophomores nationally to achieve the honor.
Onuaku (9.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has continued to improve this season. In league games only, Onuaku is sixth in the ACC in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and second in blocked shots (2.0 bpg) while shooting 61.5 percent from the field.
He has eight double-doubles on the season and 10 for his career, including six consecutive in his first six ACC games. He is the first Cardinal with six straight double-doubles in 22 years, since Clifford Rozier had nine straight during the 1993-94 season. He leads the team with 25 dunks this season. He has made 15-of-21 free throws in his last seven games (.714). His season percentage is up nearly 12 points from last season's figure.
Onuaku and the 13th-ranked Cardinals (19-5, 8-3 ACC) have had a successful year both on the court and academically. In the 2015 fall semester, 13 of 15 men's basketball student-athletes achieved a 3.0 or better grade point average. The Cardinals posted a collective 3.36 GPA for the 2015 fall semester, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved in 2013.
Last season, Louisville senior forward Wayne Blackshear earned Academic All-America second team honors and senior guard Peyton Siva was a 2013 Academic All-America first-team selection.
