Jan. 17, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - San Diego State guard Brandon Heath has been announced as one of 30 men's basketball nominees for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I male and female senior basketball player who excel both on and off the court.
The senior from Los Angeles is currently averaging a team-best 19.5 points per game, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists. The SDSU and Mountain West Conference all-time scoring leader also leads the team in steals with 36 on the season.
A three-year letterwinner who earned his sociology degree this past December, Heath is the only MWC player on the men's side and is joined by New Mexico's Katie Montgomery as the lone representatives of the league among the 60 total nominees.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the CLASS 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 can bring.
Finalists will be selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student athlete. These areas of excellence are identified under the categories of classroom, character and community, as well as the candidate's performance and team loyalty on the court.
From the list of 30 nominees for each gender, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the sixth-year award in February.
Those 10 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. Winners will be announced during the men's and women's respective Final Four weekends.
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) and J.J. Reddick of Duke (2006).