Friday, April 11, 2008

Valparaiso sophomore guard Samuel Haanpää (Kerava, Finland/Cornerstone [Texas] Christian) has been named to the five-player Horizon League Men’s Basketball All-Academic Team.

Haanpää averaged 10.0 points per game for the Crusaders during the 2007-08 campaign, helping Valpo to a 22-14 overall record and a berth in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.  Valpo’s all-time leader in 3-point percentage, the sophomore connected on 43.0% (58-of-135) of his shots from behind the arc last season.  Haanpää also broke the Crusader single-game record for 3-pointers made, draining ten triples on December 15 against Chicago State, and earned league Player of the Week accolades for his performance that week.

In the classroom, Haanpää carries a 3.724 grade point average as an International Business major.  The sophomore was named to the Horizon League Fall 2007 Academic Honor Roll and received U.S. Army Scholar-Athlete of the Week accolades from the league on December 18.  In addition, Haanpää was named the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the Month for December after averaging 14.0 points per game on 59.6% shooting during the month, leading Valpo to a 5-2 record for the month.