KANSAS CITY, Mo.--The UH Hilo men's basketball team, under head coach Kaniela Aiona has been making steady progress on the court in his two seasons in leadership, with back-to-back winning seasons and postseason qualification last winter.

Off the court, his squad has accomplished another goal.

Today, the Vulcans were honored with the NABC Team Academic Award, given to programs that ended the 2021-22 school year with a team grade point average of 3.0 or better. This is the first time that Aiona's group has met that goal and received this honor. 

"Our goal is to win in the classroom, in the community and on the court," said Aiona, who will begin his third season leading the program in 2022-23. "We have set the 3.0 GPA as a team goal, and this is another great step forward for us."

The National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) announces their team and individual honors each summer. The Vulcans have had student-athletes make the list in the past, but this is the first time that the entire team earned the honor.

The NABC Honors Court is given to student-athletes that have reached junior, senior or graduate student in status and have an accumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher. For the third year in a row, Vulcan student-athletes Steven Hubbell (Burbank, Calif. / John Burroughs HS / Glendale CC/) and Anthony Haskett (Walnut Creek, Calif. / Las Lomas HS / Diablo Valley College/) were on that list.

Overall, five players on the 2021-22 Vulcan team had GPA's of 3.5 or better. Eight players were at 3.1 and above, pushing Aiona's team to the Team Academic Award with a GPA of 3.097.

The NABC Honors Court was established in 2007 and is now in its 16th year. To see the complete 2021-22 list, click here. NABC Announces 2021-22 Academic Award Recipients – National Association of Basketball Coaches