The Niles boys basketball team and Austin Parks have earned Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Academic All-State honors.

Parks earned Academic All-State with a GPA of 3.96. He averaged 15 points per game for the 19-5 Class A District champion Vikings.

To be eligible, Parks had to get a vote for all-state recognition.

“Austin has always been an outstanding student,” Niles coach Todd Pawielski said. “He was a good basketball player going into this season, who turned himself into a really good basketball player due to his hard work and commitment to getting better in the off season. Austin played a ton of games in AAU, got stronger in the weight room and did a bunch of skill work on his own.

“This is a prestigious award that Austin has earned on his own. He averaged 15 points per game and made over 50  3-point baskets. He was nominated as one of the top free throw shooters and one of the top 3-point shooters in the state. We are all very proud of him.”

As a team, Niles had a GPA of 3.26 to give it honorable mention status. The Vikings were top 10 in the state the previous two seasons.

“We are very pleased to once again be one of the top teams in the state academically,” Pawielski said. “The discipline our kids show in the classroom translates to the success we have had on the basketball floor. This is our third year in a row with this type of honor and it is well deserved.

“Our student-athletes have put in the time necessary to get this award. We have been blessed with three outstanding senior classes in row going back to Mitch Peterek and David Garner. As we tell the kids all the time, you are only as good as your seniors.”