OU junior Mike Helms (Detroit) recently was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press for his outstanding season with Oakland’s men’s basketball team. The 6-foot, 185-pound guard is the Golden Grizzlies’ first Division I All-American.

Named this year’s Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year, Helms had a record-breaking season, leading the Mid-Con in scoring with a 26.9 average and finishing third in the nation among Division I players. He scored more than 20 points a league-best 22 times, including 14 games with 30 or more points. He finished the season with 752 points, just five points shy of becoming the Mid-Con’s all-time single-season scoring leader. He also established new school and Mid-Con marks for free throws (196) and free throws attempted (263) in a season.

Helms, a second team all-district selection by the NABC, was named the Mid-Con’s Player of the Week four times this past season

He currently is 10th on Oakland’s all-time scoring list and is the sixth OU men’s basketball player to earn All-America honors. He joins Kevin Kovach (1997), Tom Eller (1994), Eric Taylor (1991-92), Matt McClellan (1991) and Scott Bittinger (1988) as an Oakland men’s basketball All-American.