Luke Jackson Nominated As One Of The 10 Finalists For 2004 Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- University of Oregon forward Luke Jackson has been selected as one of the ten finalists for the 2004 Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Awards. The award is presented annually to the country's outstanding male and female senior NCAA Division I basketball player.
The Creswell senior, who was previously announced as one of 20 finalists for the prestigious Naismath Award as the nation's top collegiate basketball player as well as one of 30 finalists for the Wooden Award, remains as one of seven Division I players in the country to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists per game, averaging 21.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Other men's finalists include Andre Barrett of Seton Hall, Chris Duhon of Duke, Andre Emmett of Texas Tech, Gerald Fitch of Kentucky, Matt Freije of Vanderbilt, Rickey Paulding of Missouri, Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's, Julius Page of Pittsburgh, and Blake Stepp of Gonzaga.
The list of women's finalists consist of Alana Beard of Duke, Tera Bjorklund of Colorado, Chandi Jones of Houston, Kelly Mazzante of Penn State, Nicole Ohlde of Kansas State, Nicole Powell of Stanford, Stacy Stephens of Texas, Diana Taurasi of Connecticut, Lindsay Whalen of Minnesota, and Shereka Wright of Purdue.
The Senior Class Award - an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School - was launched prior to the 2001-02 college basketball season. The initial idea came from CBS sportscaster Dick Enberg, who now serves as Honorary Chairman of the award.
A national committee of sportswriters and sportscasters who cover Division I college basketball selected the ten finalists for the third annual award. These nominees were chosen, based on performance during the current season, from a list of 32 "Players to Watch" for both women and men.
The names of the 10 finalists will appear on the official ballot during the national voting process during the month of March. The selection of the third annual men's and women's winner will be determined by a points system involving three voting entities: the national media committee, Division I college basketball coaches, and national online fan balloting via the official website www.seniorclassaward.com.
The men's winner will be announced on CBS television by Enberg during the NCAA Men's Final Four in San Antonio. The female winner will be announced during the NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans. At the same time, the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award will also announce First-Team and Second-Team All-Senior All-America teams, based on results from the balloting.
The winners of the inaugural award in 2001 were Juan Dixon of Maryland and Sue Bird of Connecticut. Last year's honorees were David West of Xavier and LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State.
