Way back in November, Rodger polled the writers for this site on what highest accolade John Shurna would win this year. Well, today, my faith and optimism in the Baby Faced Assassin, the Donnybrook from Glenbrook, the Hottie with the Ugly Shottie, the Shurna That'll Burn-ya -- ok I'm done now -- was validated, as Shurna was named an honorable mention All-American by the AP.
I'm proud to say that I was the only writer for this site who though such an award was even a remote possibility for Shurna. Though, I also did say that it'd come on the back of his leading us to the NCAA tournament, and sadly, we all know how that turned out.
Anyway, Shurna becomes the second All-American in NU history, joining NU's first All-American since Evan Eschmeyer, who was named to the AP's second team in 1999. [EDIT: GTom in the comments section points out my egregious error. NU actually has had eight All-Americans before Shurna. Apologies to those guys, on the off chance they read this blog. And if they do, please drop us a line!] Kudos to John Shurna, for four years of some of the most entertaining basketball we Wildcat fans have been privileged to watch, from the game-winning shot he sunk against Ohio State his freshman year to that huge three-pointer he hit against Minnesota just a few weeks ago to set the NU scoring record. That one almost made me weepy. His shot may not be a work of art, but he was the consummate Wildcat, humble as can be, with a smile on his face.
In case you didn't remember, Shurna not only holds the NU record for points, but he's also first in career blocks and games played. He ranks in the top-10 in school history in minutes played, three-pointers made and assists, among other categories.
Next up for Shurna is a professional career somewhere. While his NBA prospects may be somewhat of a longshot, he's proven people wrong before. Best of luck to him, wherever he ends up.