KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Following the close of the 2021-22 season Alabama A&M men's basketball has earned a pair of National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District honors as announced by that organization on Tuesday, March 15.
 
Junior forward Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) was named to the District 22 First-Team while junior guard Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) was selected to the Second-Team.
 
JALEN JOHNSON – FIRST-TEAM
Johnson started and played in all 30 games and was the top scorer for the Bulldogs while being an all-round threat in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) with averages of 15.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 0.7 assists while shooting .468 from the field.
 
He is currently ranked third in the SWAC in field goal percentage and fourth in rebounds per game. He led the Bulldogs with 15 points and nine rebounds during the Bulldogs 61-56 SWAC Tournament Quarterfinal victory over FAMU and played 35 minutes as AAMU reached the semifinal round for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
 
Johnson would then turn around and produce a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds while playing 36 minutes the following day in a near upset of No. 1 seed Alcorn State before the Bulldogs dropped a narrow 69-64 decision to close out their season. The 6-7 forward delivered double-doubles seven times and had at least 15 points in 17 games.
 
Additionally, he was just one of 41 student-athletes named to the 2021-22 Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List and was only one of four individuals from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
 
Johnson was also named SWAC Player of the Week on November 24 after delivering a career high 30 points against 2021 American Athletic Conference (AAC) semifinalist Cincinnati.


GARRETT HICKS – SECOND-TEAM
Prior to the 2021-22 season Hicks was named to the All-SWAC Preseason First-Team and backed it up as he helped lead the Bulldogs to a NCAA Division I era six game winning streak while being one of the most dangerous three-point shooters in the league.
 
Hicks was the second leading scorer for the Bulldogs, averaging 14.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and was ranked ninth in the SWAC in field goal percentage. Not only did he lead AAMU in three-point percentage with a mark of .357 he is also ranked third in the SWAC in that category.
 
He scored 15 points or more in 11 games and had a season high of 25 points against Southern (2/5) and made four or more three-pointers six times. Leading that performance were six treys against Florida A&M (2/21) and Alcorn (3/11).
 
The 6-0 guard played the most minutes of any Bulldog this season, logging 999 and averaging 35.7 minutes per game, both of which ranked second in the league. His average of 2.0 steals also placed him sixth in the SWAC.
 
Hicks was named SWAC Impact Player of the Week on November 19 after he put up strong numbers, averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals over two games.

During AAMU's postseason victory over FAMU he notched 12 points and nine rebounds as the Bulldogs qualified for the semifinal round before producing 20 points and three boards to nearly upset the Braves in a narrow close 69-64 defeat.
 
Hicks has not been a stranger to other regional honors as he made history last month by being the first player in the history of Alabama A&M men's basketball to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District men's basketball team.
 
The NABC All-District honors are voted on by NABC-member coaches across NCAA Division I.
 
2021-22 NABC All-District - District 22
 
First-Team
Jalen Johnson, Alabama A&M
Tyrone Lyons, Southern
MJ Randolph, Florida A&M
Jayden Saddler, Southern
Derek St. Hilaire, New Orleans
 
Second-Team
Cameron Christon, Grambling State
Joe French, Bethune Cookman
Ty Gordon, Nicholls State
Garrett Hicks, Alabama A&M
Jayveous McKinnis, Jackson State