Aug. 6, 2002
SAN DIEGO - For the second consecutive year, San Diego State men's basketball players Karlo Kovacic and Chris Walton have been named to the Mountain West Conference all-academic men's basketball team. The 18-member squad consists of student-athletes who maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 or better, complete at least one semester at the school and are starters or significant contributors to the team.
San Diego State was one of just four league schools to place multiple student-athletes on the squad. Kovacic and Walton, who were both on the all-academic team last season, are two of just seven members of the squad who are repeat honorees from a year ago.
For the second straight season Kovacic had the highest grade-point average on the all-academic team. Kovacic, who completed his eligibility last spring, played in 46 games and made 12 career starts in two seasons, with the Aztecs. A native of Rijeka, Croatia, Kovacic helped lead San Diego State to a 35-26 record in his two seasons when the Aztecs posted a 9-45 record the two years before his arrival. Kovacic recorded nine double-figure scoring games and made 47 three-point field goals in his career. As a senior, Kovacic averaged 2.3 points and 0.5 assists per contest. He posted a 3.94 grade-point average in international business.
Walton, a rising junior, was one of six players to see action in all 33 games for the Aztecs last season. A native of San Diego, Walton averaged 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds including a 12-point, 10-rebound performance against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne. The University of San Diego High product has played in all 61 games since arriving on the San Diego State campus. He is a business major.