Dec. 5, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Senior wing Shan Foster has been selected as a candidate for the 2007-08 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, given to the nation’s top 30 senior male and female college basketball players who exemplify a total student-athlete.
The award – presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student- Athlete of the Year in eight sports – focuses on the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition. Lowe’s, an official corporate partner of the NCAA will award the winners with trophies during the respective men’s and women’s NCAA Final Four weekends.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.
Now in its seventh year for basketball, the award has developed into the nation’s premier tribute for college seniors. Since originating with basketball, Lowe’s has expanded the award to include a total of eight NCAA sports.
Foster, a 6’6 senior from Kenner, La., has had a stellar start to his senior season for the Commodores. He has garnered two SEC Player of the Week awards already this season, and is currently averaging 19.6 points per game, which is third in the SEC. Foster also leads the league in three’s made per game (4.0), and ranks in the top 30 in the SEC in four other categories (rebounding, FG%, 3 PT FG%, minutes played).
The list of basketball candidates (complete roster attached) includes a broad spectrum of universities and conferences across the country. On the men’s side, 29 different schools are represented with Georgetown University being the only team with two candidates. Players from 17 different conferences are among the male nominees.
“At Lowe’s, we take pride in acknowledging hard work and outstanding accomplishments both on and off the court,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s senior vice president of marketing and advertising. “That commitment extends beyond our employees and customers and into the communities we serve where these student-athletes become real-life mentors. We’re thrilled to honor each candidate’s contributions and look forward to recognizing the award recipients at the men’s and women’s Final Four.”
From the list of 30 nominees for each gender, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in January 2008. Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the male and female recipients.
The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman. It was inspired by the remarkable story of former Duke University basketball player Shane Battier, who could have been an NBA lottery pick but returned to college for his senior season and led the Blue Devils to the National Championship in 2001.
Previous winners of the men’s award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph’s (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005), J.J. Reddick of Duke (2006) and Alando Tucker of Wisconsin (2007).
Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award 2007-08 Men’s Candidates:
Name Height Class Pos. School Conference
Shan Foster 6’6″ Sr. G/F Vanderbilt SEC
Keiron Achara 6’10’ Sr. F/C Duquesne Atlantic 10
Jarell Brown 6’2″ Sr. G United States Military Academy
Patriot Brian Butch 6’11” Sr. F/C Wisconsin Big 10
Jaycee Carroll 6’2″ Sr. G Utah State WAC
Will Daniels 6’8″ Sr. F Rhode Island Atlantic 10
Randal Falker 6’7″ Sr. F Southern Illinois Missouri Valley
Kentrell Gransberry 6’9″ Sr. C South Florida Big East
A.J. Graves 6’1″ Sr. G Butler Horizon
Cliff Hammonds 6’3″ Sr. G Clemson ACC
Justin Hare 6’2″ Sr. G Belmont Atlantic Sun
Mitch Henke 6’7″ Sr. F Santa Clara WCC
Roy Hibbert 7’2″ Sr. F Georgetown Big East
Joseph Jones 6’9″ Sr. F/C Texas A&M Big 12
Sasha Kaun 6’11” Sr. C Kansas Big 12
Eugene Lawrence 6’1″ Sr. G St. John’s Big East
Jack Leasure 6’3″ Sr. G Coastal Carolina Big South
Chris Lofton 6’2″ Sr. G Tennessee SEC
Drew Neitzel 6’0″ Sr. G Michigan State Big 10
Matt Nelson 6’9″ Sr. F Boise State WAC
DeMarcus Nelson 6’4″ Sr. G Duke ACC
David Padgett 6’11” Sr. F/C Louisville Big East
Brian Roberts 6’2″ Sr. G Dayton Atlantic 10
Ty Rogers 6’3″ Sr. G Western Kentucky Sun Belt
Drew Shubik 6’4″ Sr. G Sacred Heart NEC
Sean Singletary 6’0″ Sr. G Virginia ACC
Peyton Stovall 6’1″ Sr. G Ball State Mid-American
Jonathan Wallace 6’1″ Sr. G Georgetown Big East
Dane Watts 6’8″ Sr. F Creighton Missouri Valley
Kyle Weaver 6’6″ Sr. G Washington State Pac 10