SAINT PETER, Minn. – The No. 7 nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus College men's basketball team had two major award winners in the D3hoops.com All-Region and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III All-District awards. Head Coach
Justin DeGrood was recognized as the Regional Coach of the Year and junior guard
Myles Barnette was named First Team All-Region by D3hoops.com on Monday. The two were also named District Coach of the Year and First Team All-District by the NABC on Tuesday.
Coach DeGrood was named Regional/District Coach of the Year after leading Gustavus to win both the MIAC Regular Season and Playoff Championships this winter. The fourth-year head coach led the Gusties to a 15-1 record in the conference and to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA DIII Tournament with a 27-3 record; the fourth-highest winning percentage in the nation. DeGrood's team led the country with the fewest turnovers per game at just 7.6 with the 1.4 turnover per game gap between Gustavus and the runner up (9.0, St. Norbert) being the same as between second place and 29
th place (10.4, Rochester). The Gusties also ranked second and third in the nation in assist to turnover rate (1.83) and turnover margin (9.0), respectively. DeGrood's team also had the third-highest average margin of victory in the country at 18.4 points per game.
Barnette secured First Team All-Region/District status after earning MIAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-Conference recognition, and All-Playoff Team honors after a dominant season in which he was one of the best two-way players in the nation. The junior scored 571 points with 19.7 points per game, making the 14
th-most field goals in the nation at 227 with the 25
th-best shooting percentage in the country at 59.6% from the field. Barnette had 122 assists for 4.2 per game with a 2.8 assist to turnover ratio that ranks 17
th in the nation. Defensively, the junior guard had the 16
th-most steals in the nation with 72, averaging 2.5 per game. Barnette also had 120 rebounds and 20 blocks on the season.
During the NCAA Tournament, Barnette leveled up his game to average 27.7 points on 54.4% shooting with 6.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists per game, and 2.3 steals per game. The junior had the best game of his collegiate career in the Gusties' final game of the season, scoring 40 points on 76.2% shooting (16-for-21) while also leading Gustavus in rebounds with seven and assists with four in the Sweet 16.
