Marquette University Athletics
James Named Naismith Award Finalist
2/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2007
MILWAUKEE - Marquette men's basketball point guard Dominic James has been named one of 30 finalists for the men's Naismith Trophy. The sophomore is the first Golden Eagle to be named a finalist since Dwyane Wade in 2003.
James has helped lead No. 16/16 Marquette to a 22-7 overall record and 9-5 BIG EAST record this season. He leads the Golden Eagles and is ninth in the conference with 15.2 points per game. With 4.62 assists and 1.97 steals per game, he ranks fifth in the league, and only five have bettered his 1.74 assist-to-turnover ratio. James has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week twice this season and was recently named to the Wooden Award Midseason All-American Team and a Bob Cousy Award finalist.
Aaron Gray (Pittsburgh), Jeff Green (Georgetown) and Roy Hibbert (Georgetown) join James as the four finalists from the BIG EAST.
In 1978, Butch Lee became the first and only MU student-athlete to win the Naismith Award. That season, he was also named the Basketball Weekly Player of the Year and was named an All-American by eight organizations, including the Associated Press.
Voting will take place the week of Feb. 26 and four finalists will be announced in mid-March. The winner will be honored at the Final Four in Atlanta.
Naismith Award Finalists
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 - UNC
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
