A pair of teammates from Loyola of Chicago and a pair from Regis College lead a group of six student-athletes named to the 2011-2012 National Academic All-Jesuit Men’s Basketball Team that was announced today by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight.

The Ramblers are represented on the team by Ben Averkamp (Jr., F, Germantown, WI) and Walt Gibler (Sr., F, Cincinnati, OH), while the Rangers feature Chris Johansen (Sr., G/F, Albuquerque, NM), an Academic All-American who is a repeater from last year’s squad, and Lance Korell (Sr., G, 6-1, Eaton, CO).

The four teammates are joined on the Academic All-Jesuit squad by Brian Conklin (Saint Louis, Gr., F, 6-6, Eugene, OR), another Academic All-American who also earned All-Jesuit honorable-mention honors. The final member, Ryan Olander (Fairfield, Sr., F, Mansfield, Conn.), repeats from last year’s Academic All-Jesuit team.

Five other student-athletes were awarded honorable-mention status. They are Cody Doolin (San Francisco, So., Austin, TX); Michael Hart (Gonzaga, R-Jr., Portland, OR); Robert Lovaglio (Loyola New Orleans, So., Winter Park, FL); Joe Meyer (John Carroll, Sr., Mentor, OH); and Conor Sweeney (John Carroll, Sr., Eastlake, OH).

The All-Jesuit Team represents student-athletes from the 28 Jesuit colleges spread across the United States that play basketball on all three levels of the NCAA and the NAIA. They share the mission of Jesuit education, founded nearly 500 years ago under the principles of St. Ignatius Loyola to educate young people to become men and women dedicated to service and compassionate leadership. Students at Jesuit colleges have long excelled in the classroom and in the community, but they also have played a major role in collegiate basketball in the last 100 years.