VALDOSTA, Ga. - The pinnacle of postseason honors was added to a long list of awards earned by Valdosta State men's basketball's star shooting guard, as Beau Justice was announced as a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II All-American on Monday. 

In early March, Justice, a junior out of Peebles, Ohio, followed in Jeremiah Hill's footsteps when he became Valdosta State's second consecutive Gulf South Conference Player of the Year. In addition, he received First Team All-GSC recognition and was recently named the D2CCA Division II South Region Player of the Year.

"Beau has an inner drive that is off the charts," said Head Coach Mike Helfer. "He will push himself to exhaustion in every workout, practice, drill, or game. He knows what to do to continuously improve, and it's a fun thing to watch. He is the ideal student-athlete to have in your program because he does everything that is asked of him. He is a great player, a great student, and a great person. I'm lucky to have the opportunity to coach him."

Justice ranked among the top two eligible Gulf South Conference scorers during the 2017-18 regular season. The sharpshooting guard finished among the league's top ten in scoring (20.0 points per game, 2nd), field goal percentage (47.3, 10th), free throw percentage (90.3 percent, 2nd), 3-point field goal percentage (41.1 percent, 2nd), and 3-point field goals per game (2.8, 3rd). On the national level, his aforementioned free throw percentage placed him 10th on the Division II leaderboard.

"I talked to my brother [Assistant Coach Blake Justice] and my dad before this season about how I had two years left to turn it up and take things to a new level," said Justice on Monday. "I knew if I wanted to play professionally, whether here or overseas, that I would need to start performing at a level where my name would get out there. This is a dream come true, and it definitely serves as a check mark for my career. It's probably one of the top check marks, just under my number one check mark of a championship."

With Justice's help, the Blazers produced a sparkling overall record of 26-5 on the season and an 18-2 record against league opponents. The historic season saw Valdosta State string together their longest single-season winning streak in program history with 18 consecutive wins, and Justice became just the third Blazer to ever record over 1,000 points in less than two full seasons, placing him in the company of Tyrone Curnell and all-time scoring leader and Blazer Athletics Hall of Famer Eddie Brown.

"This award, to me, verifies that hard work pays off," added Justice. "You don't always have to be the most talented, or the most athletic, or the tallest. If you work hard and put your nose to the grindstone, it's going to pay off in one way or another. Much of the credit for these individuals honors also goes to my teammates. There are a lot of better players than me out there playing on worse teams. If you have a good team and a good group of guys to play with, and if you work hard, good things are going to happen."

Justice is the second men's basketball player in as many years to be named an NABC All-American, and he is the only player in the Gulf South Conference to receive the honor in 2017-18. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, these student-athletes represent the finest basketball players in America.

2018 NABC COACHES' DIVISION II ALL-AMERICA TEAM

David Chavlovich, West Texas A&M, 5-11, Senior, Guard, Arlington, Texas

Daeshon Francis, UT-Permian Basin, 6-4, Senior, Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

Tim Guers, Saint Anselm, 6-3, Junior, Guard, Langhorne, Pa.

Zach Hankins, Ferris State, 6-10, Junior, Center, Charlevoix, Mich.

Haywood Highsmith, Wheeling Jesuit, 6-7, Senior, Forward, Baltimore, Md.

Trevor Hill, Dixie State, 6-4, Senior Guard, Sandy, Utah

Beau Justice, Valdosta State, 6-2, Junior, Guard, Peebles, Ohio

Tanner Omlid, Western Oregon, 6-4, Senior, Forward, Monmouth, Ore.

Justin Pitts, Northwest Missouri State, 5-10, Senior, Guard, Blue Springs, Mo.

Justin Reyes, St. Thomas Aquinas, 6-4, Senior, Guard/Forward, Haverhill, Mass.

Tyler Rudolph, Minot State, 6-6, Senior, Forward, Bismarck, N.D.

Dustin Sleva, Shippensburg, 6-8, Senior, Forward, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Taren Sullivan, Findlay, 6-6, Senior, Forward, Lima, Ohio

Emanuel Terry, Lincoln Memorial, 6-9, Senior, Forward, Enterprise, Ala.

Tyrius Walker, Morehouse, 6-1, Senior, Guard, Atlanta, Ga.

Todd Withers, Queens Charlotte, 6-8, Senior, Guard/Forward, Greensboro, N.C.