KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the organization's academic awards for the 2023-24 season Monday as the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team was named a recipient of the Team Excellence Award while eight individuals were named to the Honors Court list.
 
To be eligible for the NABC Team Academic Award, a team must have achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher during the 2023-24 academic year, while the NABC Honors Court recognizes players who are juniors, seniors, or graduate students academically, and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year.
 
Of the Orediggers' 17-man roster last season, eight individuals earned Honors Court recognition led by repeat honorees Sam Beskind and Reagan Koch who were joined by Adam Krasovec, Dom Girish, Juani Dassie, Majok Deng, Silas McCurnin and Taylor Spurlock.
 
Beskind earned his graduate degree in Advanced Energy Systems in May, giving him a total of three degrees heading into the working world after arriving at Mines in 2022 as a two-time graduate of Stanford. The Tucson native wrapped up his second and final season at Mines by earning a bevvy of honors including RMAC Academic Player of the Year, First Team All-RMAC, CSC Academic All-District, CSC Third Team Academic All-America, an RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honor and SCB Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team honors. One of two players to start all 33 games, Beskind led the RMAC in assists and assist/turnover ratio while recording the third-most assists in a single-season in program history. He averaged 30.3 minutes per game along with 8.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting .403/.304/.827. 10 times he scored in double figures along with posting five games with 10+ rebounds and 16 games with five or more assists, including back-to-back games of 10 assists against Westminster and Northern New Mexico in December.
 
Krasovec, a Computer Science major, recorded another solid season during the 2023-24 campaign, averaging 15.7 minutes, 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while making 30 appearances and three starts. He shot .527 from the floor and set a new career-high with 19 three-pointers and recorded his second 100-rebound season, also posting a new best mark of 126 along with 40 assists, 11 blocks and seven steals. The Hungarian scored in 20 straight games from November 18-February 9 with six double-digit performance, five of which were consecutive. He dropped a season-high 19 on January 19 against Regis on 8-11 shooting as the second of back-to-back double-doubles with 10 rebounds, preceded by a 15 and 12 game at New Mexico Highlands.
 
Koch, an Honors Court honoree last season, wrapped up his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering in May in just three years and also earned RMAC Academic Honor Roll and CSC Academic All-District honors this year. The Chanhassen, Minnesota product appeared in all 33 games during the 2023-24 season with two starts and shot .402./.378/.727 and averaged 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per night. Koch also registered 40 assists and pocketed 19 steals while scoring in double figures four times including a season-best 14 points on 5-7 shooting against Adams State on February 3 that included a pair of three-pointers and five rebounds.
 
Girish completed his second season at Mines and first season of on-court action by appearing in 18 games and scoring a season-high four points on November 11 against St. Mary's (TX). He also scored against Adams State in Alamosa and at home against Northen New Mexico, finishing the season with 10 points and five rebounds while going .571 from the floor. The honor from the NABC is the first of his career and second academic honor from the 2023-24 season, previously earning RMAC Academic Honor Roll status.
 
Dassie burst onto the scene during his first season in Golden as sharpshooter from outside, breaking the program's single-season three-point percentage record by shooting .506 from downtown in addition to going .537 from the floor and .889 from the stripe. He averaged 11.6 minutes and 5.2 points per game and connected on 40 three-pointers. Six times he scored in double figures and dropped a season-high 20 points on 7-11 shooting including six treys against Adams State on March 1. The academic honor from the NABC is the second of the season for Dassie, who also earned CSC Academic All-District honors in April.
 
Deng dazzled in his debut season at Mines after transferring from Pepperdine. A First Team All-RMAC honoree, he also earned nods to the RMAC and SCB Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Teams and was a D2CCA Second Team All-Region and NABC Second Team All-District selection in addition to netting a pair of RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. The second of two players to start all 33 games, Deng averaged 24.8 minutes and night in led the team in scoring at 17.8 PPG while also averaging 3.4 rebounds and shooting .441/.436/.840. His 82 treys ranked second in the RMAC while he led the conference in three-point percentage and was seventh in scoring. Deng went for 20+ on 10 occasions including 31 against Mercyhurst in just his second career game before becoming the first 40-point scorer since the 2004-05 season on February 24 at Chadron State when he went for 42. The holder of an Economics degree from Pepperdine, Deng is working toward a graduate degree in Natural Resources & Energy Policy at Mines.
 
McCurnin, a first-year player for the Orediggers last season, did not see game action but is already far advanced when it comes to his degree progress in Civil Engineering. The Fort Collins native came to Mines as the all-time three-point field goal record holder at Poudre High School and ranks fourth in Colorado prep history with 303 treys.
 
Spurlock graduated in May with a degree in Mechanical Engineering after closing out his career by appearing in 17 games as a reserve last season. He dropped a career-best eight point on senior night on March 1 against Adams State in his first career start and finished the season shooting .333 from the floor and .667 at the line with four assists, two boards and two steals.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines men's basketball on X and Instagram at @minesmbb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.