Arizona senior Pelle Larsson was named a second-team academic all-American by the College Sports Communicators organization, becoming the sixth men’s basketball player in school history to receive the honor.
Larsson has maintained a cumulative 3.60 grade-point average in business administration while becoming one of the Wildcats’ most versatile and valuable players last season. He averaged 12.8 points and 4.1 rebounds while leading UA in assists per game (3.7) and shooting 42.5% from 3-point range.
Larsson is the first Wildcat to be named an academic all-American since Matt Muehlebach was a second-team pick in 1991. Bob Elliott picked up the honors three times: He was a second team pick in 1975 and a first-team pick in 1976 and 1977.
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The other Wildcats to receive the honor were Jim Rappis, a third-team pick in 1976, and Warren Rustand, a second-team pick in 1965.
Stanford’s Brandon Angel was named first team academic all-American this year, along with UConn’s Cam Spencer, Texas’ Max Abmas, Illinois’ Marcus Domask, and Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart.
Joining Larsson on the second team were Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro, Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey, Morehead State’s Riley Minix and Iowa’s Payton Sandfort.
Phoenix-area native Jaelen House of New Mexico was named to the third team along with Stanford’s Michael Jones, Ohio State’s Jamison Battle, Rice’s Max Fielder and Marquette’s Stevie Mitchell.
A fourth-year senior last season who spent three seasons with the Wildcats, Larsson is projected as a second-round pick in the June NBA Draft. He is expected to graduate this month and, while he has an extra COVID year of eligibility remaining, is expected to enter the draft.
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe