Defending Champion Florida Represented by Four Players
ATLANTA, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and the Atlanta
Tipoff Clip today announced that thirty of the country's top collegiate
men's basketball players were named as midseason candidates for the
Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T. The Naismith Trophy is the most
prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's
college basketball players of the year.
Led by four players off the 2005 - 2006 national champion Florida
Gators squad -Corey Brewer, Taurean Green, Al Horford and Joakim Noah - the
"Top 30" men's list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of
Selectors, which comprises leading basketball journalists, coaches and
administrators from around the country. The board based its criteria on
player performances this season, and the list was narrowed down from the
preseason list of 50 candidates who were announced at the beginning of the
season.
"These 30 student-athletes have had tremendous seasons thus far, and
their play is consistent with the success their respective teams are
having," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. "I expect that
the race for the Naismith Trophy will heat up a great deal over the last
few weeks of the season."
Again this year, AT&T will give fans an unprecedented voice in
selecting the winner. Fan-voting, through the power and ease of
text-messaging, will account for 25 percent of the selection process. This
program sets the standard in college athletics for integrating fans into
the voting process and for providing them with more input than with any
other major collegiate sports award.
"For the third consecutive year, AT&T is proud to give the fans a voice
in determining the winner of the Naismith Trophy," said Marc Lefar, chief
marketing officer of AT&T's wireless unit. "The 30 midseason candidates are
all outstanding student-athletes who have demonstrated exceptional
basketball ability this season."
In early February, CBS Sports' "AT&T AT THE HALF" began featuring a
weekly Naismith Trophy Watch highlighting the men's players in contention.
These players, and others who distinguish themselves throughout the season,
will be eligible for the final ballot.
The four finalists for the Naismith Trophy will be announced on March
18 by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, and fans will be
eligible to cast their vote for the winner until March 31. The Men's
Naismith Trophy winner will be announced at the 2007 NCAA Final Four in
Atlanta.
AT&T is making the voting open to other wireless carriers allowing even
more fans to participate. Other wireless carriers must opt in for their
subscribers to participate.
The midseason candidates for the Men's Naismith Trophy presented by
AT&T, listed in alphabetical order, are as follows:
2006 -2007 Top 30 Men's Naismith Trophy Midseason Candidates
Player Class Pos. School
Arron Afflalo Jr. G UCLA
Morris Almond Sr. G Rice
Corey Brewer Jr. F Florida
JamesOn Curry Jr. G Oklahoma State
Jemareo Davidson Sr. F Alabama
Glen Davis Jr. F LSU
Jared Dudley Sr. F Boston College
Kevin Durant Fr. G-F Texas
Nick Fazekas Sr. F Nevada
Aaron Gray Sr. C Pittsburgh
Jeff Green Jr. F Georgetown
Taurean Green Jr. G Florida
Adam Haluska Sr. G Iowa
Tyler Hansbrough So. F North Carolina
Roy Hibbert Jr. C Georgetown
Al Horford Jr. F/C Florida
Jarrius Jackson Sr. G Texas Tech
Dominic James So. G Marquette
Acie Law Sr. G Texas A&M
Chris Lofton Jr. G Tennessee
Josh McRoberts So. F Duke
Randolph Morris Jr. F/C Kentucky
Joakim Noah Jr. F/C Florida
Brandon Rush So. G Kansas
Sean Singeltary Sr. G Virginia
Ronald Steele Jr. G Alabama
Curtis Sumpter Sr. F Villanova
Al Thornton Sr. F Florida State
Alando Tucker Sr. F Wisconsin
D.J. White Jr. F Indiana
Last year's Naismith Trophy recipient was J.J. Redick of Duke
University. In the 38-year history of the Naismith Award, the Atlantic
Coast Conference won the most men's player of the year (15) and coach of
the year (6) honors. For more information, visit
http://www.naismithawards.com.
Note: This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as
part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is
committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the
outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The
Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since UCLA's Lew
Alcindor first won the award in 1969. Old Dominion's Anne Donovan won the
inaugural Women's Naismith Trophy in 1983.
The Naismith Awards program has become an emblem of excellence for the
game, recognizing the Men's and Women's College Player of the Year, Men's
and Women's Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding
achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and overall
contribution to the game.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. is a premier communications holding company in the United
States and around the world, with operating subsidiaries providing services
under the AT&T brand. AT&T is the recognized world leader in providing
IP-based communications services to businesses and the U.S. leader in
providing wireless, high speed Internet access, local and long distance
voice, and directory publishing and advertising through its Yellow Pages
and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations. As part of its three-screen integration
strategy, AT&T is expanding video entertainment offerings to include such
next-generation television services as AT&T U-verse(SM) TV. Additional
information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T
subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.
AT&T is a registered trademark of AT&T Knowledge Ventures. Subsidiaries
and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T
brand. For more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T
newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom.
SOURCE Cingular Wireless, now part of the new AT&T
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Related links:
http://www.cingular.com
http://www.att.com http://www.naismithawards.com
CONTACT:
Matt Garvey, Atlanta Sports Council,
+1-404-586-8496; or Clay Owen, of Cingular, now AT&T,
+1-404-236-6153, clay.owen@cingular.com
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