Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Finalists

Press Release — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:17:22 -0800

2009-10 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award

November 4, 2009 (Overland Park, KS) – Sixty NCAA men’s basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court were tabbed as candidates today for the 2009-10 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School™, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

This year’s candidate class includes 25 players on the preseason watch lists for the men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award and eight men’s players who are candidates for the AT&T Naismith Trophy.

Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award™ winner for men’s basketball at the 2010 NCAA Men’s Final Four® in Indianapolis in April and for women’s basketball at the 2010 NCAA Women’s Final Four® in San Antonio in April.

Men’s Basketball Candidates

Name - Position - School

Matt Bouldin, Guard, Gonzaga University

Da'Sean Butler, Forward, West Virginia University

Devan Downey, Guard, University of South Carolina

Dodie Dunson, Guard, Bradley University

Jason Duty, Guard, Duquesne University

Patrick Foley, Guard, Columbia University

Marcus Ginyard, Guard, University of North Carolina

Marquis Hall, Guard, Lehigh University

Luke Harangody, Forward, University of Notre Dame

Damion James, Forward, University of Texas

Adam Koch, Forward, University of Northern Iowa

David Kool, Guard, Western Michigan University

Chris Kramer, Guard, Purdue University

Roman Martinez, Forward, University of New Mexico

Michael McConathy, Guard, Northwestern State University

Yves Mekongo, Forward, La Salle University

Raymar Morgan, Forward, Michigan State University

Matthew Mullery, Forward, Brown University

Hamady Ndiaye, Center, Rutgers University

Dexter Pittman, Center, University of Texas

Jared Quayle, Guard, Utah State University

Jerome Randle, Guard, University of California, Berkeley

Scottie Reynolds, Guard, Villanova University

Nate Rohnert, Guard/Forward, University of Denver

Jon Scheyer, Guard, Duke University

DeShawn Sims, Forward, University of Michigan

Tyler Smith, Guard/Forward, University of Tennessee

J.T. Tiller, Guard, University of Missouri

Ben Uzoh, Guard, University of Tulsa

Josh Young, Guard, Drake University

Gonzaga Basketball Preview: #31

Joel Welser — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:44:19 -0700

Overall Rank: #31

Conference Rank: #1 West Coast Conference

2008-09: 28-6, 14-0

2008-09 postseason: NCAA

Coach: Mark Few (264-66 at Gonzaga, 264-66 overall)

This will not be the first time Gonzaga needs to reload, but with four starters gone, it will not be easy for Coach Mark Few to keep this group on the national radar. Austin Daye, Micah Downs, Josh Heytvelt and Jeremy Pargo led the Bulldogs to the Sweet Sixteen and a perfect West Coast Conference record. It could happen again, but Gonzaga will need to find a few new superstars.

Key Losses: F Ira Brown, F Austin Daye, G Micah Downs, F Josh Heytvelt, G Jeremy Pargo

Key Newcomers:

This may not be the best recruiting class to step foot in Spokane, but it is a big group. Coach Few has three redshirt freshmen, six incoming freshmen and one transfer that will all battle for minutes. Mangisto Arop is arguably the most talented of them all. The 6-5 wing is already becoming stronger than he was while playing high school in Canada and should provide an offensive spark off the bench. Sophomore Bol Kong, a native of Sudan, is also an intriguing prospect on the wing. Point guard G.J. Vilarino was on his way to Kentucky until the coaching change and is expected to be the point guard of the future and a contributor as a freshman. However, unless the Bulldogs play small, Sam Dower may be the most important newcomer this season. The 6-11, 228 pound freshman could step immediately into a starting role and is at least the most likely big man among the newcomers to play significant minutes off the bench.

Backcourt:

Do-it-all guard Matt Bouldin is the lone returning starter. After averaging 13.6 points, 3.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals a year ago, Bouldin has to be the go-to-guy for this team. Not only will Bouldin be asked to put up big numbers in just about every statistical category, but as a senior he will also need to be a leader on the floor. Getting a little more consistency out of Steven Gray would help take the pressure off Bouldin. Gray averaged 9.1 points per game last year, but he still is pretty much an outside shooter and once he gets aggressive going to the basket his scoring output will soar.

Frontcourt:

The frontcourt lacked depth last year once Robert Sacre went down with an injury and now things look a whole lot worse without Heytvelt and Daye. Sacre is the still the most experienced option after starting ten games as a freshman. During the 2008-2009 campaign, the 7-0 center only played in five games before suffering a foot injury. Other than Sacre, Will Foster is the only other returning big man and the senior has been around for a while, but he has never played very many minutes. Last season he just averaged 6.8 minutes per game in 24 contests. If Sacre gets hurt again, the Zags frontcourt will be in big trouble.

Who to Watch:

Demetri Goodson only averaged 13.4 minutes per game last year, but most feel he is ready to take over the point guard duties and lead this team back to the NCAA Tournament. The 5-11 sophomore seemed to improve with every game as a freshman and proved that he could handle the ball and handle the pressure, as was seen in Gonzaga’s second round victory over Western Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament.

Final Projection:

A lot of pressure will fall on Goodson, but he is a quality player, albeit young and relatively inexperienced. As long as he takes care of the ball and finds Gray and Bouldin on the wings, Gonzaga will win the West Coast Conference. The frontcourt will work itself out and Coach Few has some options amongst the newcomers. Do not be surprised to see this team run some small ball and put a 6-5 or 6-6 wing at the power forward spot and have Sacre handle a majority of the minutes under the basket.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Demetri Goodson, Sophomore, Guard, 3.8 points per game

Steven Gray, Junior, Guard, 9.1 points per game

Matt Bouldin, Senior, Guard, 13.6 points per game

Sam Dower, Freshman, Forward, DNP last season

Robert Sacre, Sophomore, Center, 3.0 points per game

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matt bouldin

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Finalists

Gonzaga Basketball Preview: #31