KANSAS CITY, Mo. – University of Hawai'i men's basketball player Vander Joaquim picked up another accolade when he was named to the 2012 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 6 first team.
 
Joaquim is the first Rainbow Warrior to be named all-district since Roderick Flemings in 2008-09 and is the first player to earn first-team recognition since Michael Kuebler in 2003-04. Earlier this month the native of Luanda, Angola, was named to the all-Western Athletic Conference first team, the first UH player to earn that honor in six years.
 
The 6-10 junior center proved the most consistent performer on this year's Rainbow Warrior squad. Joaquim led the team this year in scoring (14.3 ppg), rebounding (9.5 rpg), field goal percentage (.560) and blocks (58).
 
Among the national leaders in rebounding and field goal percentage, Joaquim posted a team-high 12 double-doubles, including six performances with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. His 20-point, 13-rebound performance last week vs. Idaho helped lift UH to its first WAC Tournament win since 2005 and first tournament semifinal appearance in nearly a decade.
 
A two-time WAC Player of the Week honoree, Joaquim ranks sixth-all-time in blocks at UH and his seven blocks at Nevada earlier this year was just one short of tying the school record. Meanwhile, his rebounding average was the highest by a Rainbow Warrior since Tony Maroney (9.6) in 1994-95.
 
Nevada's Deonte Burton, Montana's Will Cherry, Weber State's Damian Lillard and New Mexico State's Wendell McKines joined Joaquim on the  2012 NABC All-District 6 first team.
 
Second-team members included Weber State's Scott Bamforth, Utah State's Preston Medlin, Portland State's Charles Odum, Fresno State's Kevin Olekaibe and Nevada's Malik Story.
 
Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, Joaquim is among 240 NABC honorees who are now eligible for the NABC Coaches' Division I All-America teams, to be announced on Tuesday, March 20.