Kansas Senior Wayne Simien Wins Bayer Advantage® Senior CLASS Award
April 3, 2005
ST. LOUIS –
Kansas men’s basketball player Wayne Simien has been named the recipient of the Bayer Advantage® Senior CLASS Award which is presented each year to the outstanding senior NCAA Division I college basketball Player of the Year.
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The announcement of the honor occurred between games of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four in <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>St. Louis by CBS announcer Dick Enberg.
The acronym “CLASS” stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. Both male and female division winners are being honored. KansasState’s Kendra Wecker is the female honoree.
Simien is on schedule to graduate this spring with a degree in sociology. The Leavenworth, Kan., native led the Big 12 in scoring (20.3 ppg, 20th nationally), rebounding (11.0 rpg, seventh nationally), and with 16 double-doubles. Named 2005 Big 12 Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American, Simien was the only conference player to average a double-double.
In an era where leaving college early to turn professional has become a major issue, the Senior CLASS Award celebrates the loyalty of senior basketball players that honor their four-year commitment to their university. The Senior CLASS Award recognizes these student athletes for great achievement on the court and in the classroom while staying in school.
Each year’s Senior CLASS Award winners are determined via a structured selection process, and candidates must meet specific eligibility requirements. Senior CLASS Award winners are presented at the annual Tribute Gala in Kansas City. This year’s event is April 30th at the WestinCrownCenter.
There were 60 seniors nominated prior to the season. Simien was one of 10 finalists named March 1. The other finalists included Vermont’s Taylor Coppenrath, Marquette’s Travis Diener, Duke’s Daniel Ewing, Oklahoma State’s John Lucas and Joey Graham, Mississippi State’s Lawrence Roberts, Notre Dame’s Chris Thomas, Gonzaga’s Ronny Turiaf and Syracuse’s Hakim Warrick.
