February 23, 2007
Texas A&M senior Acie Law IV has been named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and also is on the final 30 list
for the Naismith Trophy.
Law has led A&M to a 23-4 start and a top-1o national ranking. He is the only player in the country to average at least 17.0 points and 5.4 assists while making 50 percent or better from the field.
Created by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, the Naismith Trophy is presented
annually to the men's college basketball player of the year. The list will be trimmed to four finalists in mid-March with the winner announced at the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) dinner on April 3 in St. Louis.
The most prestigious trophy in college basketball, the Naismith was first awarded to Lew Alcindor in 1969.
Finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award were selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete. While on-court performance was a factor, the off-court areas of focus for the award include classroom, character and community.
Other finalists are Jared Dudley of Boston College, Nick Fazekas of Nevada, Aaron Gray of Pittsburgh, Adam Haluska of Iowa, Jarrius Jackson of Texas Tech, J.R. Reynolds of Virginia, Curtis Sumpter of Villanova, Anthony Tolliver of Creighton and Alando Tucker of Wisconsin.
The 10 finalists will be placed on the Lowe?â„¢s Senior CLASS Award ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient. Winners will be announced during the Final Four weekend.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season in response to the trend of college basketball players leaving college early to turn professional.