March 26, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas A&M senior Derrick Roland and Head Coach Mark Turgeon have been named finalists for the prestigious Chip Hilton and Clair Bee Awards, to be presented by Chip Hilton Sports and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) at the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 4.
Chip Hilton Sports began presenting the awards in 1997 as a way to honor outstanding excellence and character in college basketball during the season.
The Selection Committee is composed of: Dan Beebe, Jay Bilas, Dave Gavitt, Bob Hammel, Bob Knight, Pat Knight, Billy Packer, Dean Smith, and Dick Vitale.
The Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award honors a senior Division I men's player for demonstrating outstanding character, leadership, and talent similar to the qualities evident in the 24-book Chip Hilton sports fiction series. The books authored by Clair Bee enjoyed their first popularity in the late 1940s through the mid-1960s and were updated and re-released to a new generation of readers in 1999.
Roland suffered a season-ending broken leg in a game at Washington on Dec. 22, but inspired his teammates with his positive attitude. At the time of the injury, Roland was the team's second-leading scorer and was regarded as one of the nation's premier defenders.
The Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award honors a Division I men's basketball coach who through his actions on and off the court makes an outstanding contribution to the sport of college basketball. The criteria for this award include a coach's ability to inspire, motivate, coach, and educate his team to achieve its fullest potential awhile insisting upon and demonstrating outstanding character and academic success.
Turgeon helped hold the team together after the emotional loss of Roland and led the team to a 24-10 record and a tie for second place in the Big 12, which was rated as the nation's toughest conference. He also maintains a high graduation rate.
Coach Clair F. Bee, the late Long Island University coach and Hall of Famer, compiled a .826 lifetime winning percentage, still the best in major-college coaching history. Known as the "Innovator," Clair Bee's influence on the game also extended to strategies (the 1-3-1 zone defense and the 3-second rule) and the development of sports camps (Camp All-America and Kutsher's Sports Academy). Coach Bee authored technical coaching books and conducted coaching clinics around the world.
By the time he left coaching in the 1950s, Clair Bee had already begun writing the Chip Hilton Sports Series, which is considered the top sports fiction series ever written.
The list of coaching finalists for the Clair Bee Award are:
Steve Donahue   Cornell University
Ben Jacobson    University of Northern Iowa
Dave Rose       Brigham Young University
Mark Turgeon    Texas A&M University
The list of player finalists for the Chip Hilton Award are:
Matt Bouldin    Gonzaga University
Lazar Hayward   Marquette University
Roman Martinez  University of New Mexico
Derrick Roland  Texas A&M University
Jarvis Varnado  Mississippi State University
Last season's Chip Hilton Award winner was Jon Brockman of the University of Washington.
Mike Anderson of the University of Missouri was the 2009 Coach Clair Bee Award winner.