July 20, 2010

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle graduate Yves Mekongo and senior Steve Weingarten have been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court for 2009-10, the organization announced today.

Mekongo, a two-time Academic All-American and first team selection in 2009-10, was also named the NACDA I-AAA Men's Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year and the Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year.

The Cameroon native was a NACDA I-AAA Scholar-Athlete for the third straight season. Mekongo also received Academic All-Atlantic 10 and Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area honors in three straight years and collected the Big 5 Sportsmanship Award at the Herb Good Banquet in April.

The senior forward from Elizabeth, N.J., boasted a 3.81 grade point average while majoring in Integrated Science, Business & Technology. A second-team Academic All-American a year ago, Mekongo averaged 11.0 points in 2009-10 and finished his career with 1,014 points.

Weingarten earns NABC Honors Court recognition for the first time in his career. A second team Academic All-District selection and NACDA I-AAA Scholar-Athlete , Weingarten has a 3.88 grade point average as a history major.

The Baltimore, MD native earned a scholarship after walking-on as a Division III transfer from Connecticut College. He appeared in all 30 games in 2009-10, starting nine, and is averaging 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

The NABC Honors Court recognizes collegiate basketball student-athletes who excel in academics during the season. It also acknowledges the talents and gifts that these men possess off the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom.

In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must meet a high standard of academic criteria, which includes: being a junior or senior academically and a varsity player, having a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2009-10 academic year, having matriculated at least one year at their current institution, and also being a member of a NCAA Division I, II, III or NAIA institution.

Additional players from the Atlantic 10 include Dayton's Dan Fox, Kurt Huelsman and Peter Zestermann; Rhode Island's Ben Eaves and Will Martell; and Ogo Adegboye and Andrew Bernstetter of St. Bonaventure.