Schneider Named CAA Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Sophomore David Schneider became the second Tribe player to garner the distinction.

04/09/08 3:30PM

Richmond, Va. - Sophomore men’s basketball player David Schneider was one of five athletes honored by the Colonial Athletic Association as recipients of the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award for the winter sports season. Schneider is the second W&M men’s basketball player to receive the honor, joining fellow Tribe standout Adam Hess, who garnered the accolade on two occasions in 2003 and 2004.

“I am extremely happy for David to receive such a prestigious award,” head coach Tony Shaver said. “It is a great reflection of our program, and we take a lot of pride in the effort and dedications that our student-athletes put forth on and off the court. David is a tireless worker both in the gym and in the classroom, so this is a well deserved honor.”

The conference honors one Scholar-Athlete in each of its 22 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must meet the Academic All-America minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20. The winners were selected by a vote of the sports information directors at each CAA institution.

A business marketing major, Schneider has excelled in the classroom as well as on the basketball court. He was selected to the CAA men’s basketball All-Academic first team in 2007-08 and is a two-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award. Schneider started 32 of the Tribe’s 33 games at point guard in 2007-08 and established the school record for minutes player in a season with 1140.

Schneider was chosen to the CAA All-Tournament team after helping lead W&M to the CAA championship game for the first time in school history. He averaged 11 points per game and 4.5 assists per game, while shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range during the CAA Tournament. He also had an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio of 9.0 in playing 146 minutes over the four games at the event. His 25-footer with 1.5 seconds left against Georgia State gave the Tribe a 58-57 win in the opening round of the CAA Tournament.

The Phoenix, Ariz., native was the Tribe’s second-leading scorer (10.9 ppg) and rebounder (4.5 rpg). He also led the team and ranked among the top 10 in the CAA in assists (124) and steals (56). Schneider shot 85.5% from the free throw line, which was second in the CAA and 37th in the nation. His assist total was the fourth-most in school history, while his 56 steals and 64 3-pointers made, both ranked fifth in the program’s annals. Schneider also finished the year with the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.21) in the CAA and the 39th-best nationally.