Nov. 4, 2011
• Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Darnell Gant has been selected as a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Gant, a senior from Los Angeles, is the only Pac-12 player on the list of 30 men's basketball candidates.
Sixty NCAA® men's and women's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court were selected as candidates today for the 2011-12 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 - community, classroom, character 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.
Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the men's Senior CLASS Award® winner during the 2012 NCAA Men's Final Four®, which will be held March 31 and April 2 in New Orleans. The women's award winner will be announced during the NCAA Women's Final Four®, which will be held April 1 and 3 in Denver.
The 60 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in both men's and women's basketball midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, Division I men's and women's coaches and fans who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Here is Gant's bio info on the Lowe's website:
Classroom
Gant graduated in June of 2011 with a drama degree. He will take graduate courses during the 2011-12 season. Gant put his acting skills on display performing in a University of Washington production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Gant is also a talented musician, playing piano, organ and drums.
Character
Gant is well-respected by his teammates and fellow students at Washington. He was elected one of three team captains for the upcoming seasons. As a junior, he won the team's most inspirational award and as a sophomore and redshirt freshman he won the Coaches Award, given annually to the team's most coachable player.
Community
Throughout his career at Washington, Gant has worked with several charities and been a positive member of the community. Gant has volunteered his time at Seattle's Children's Hospital and the Union Gospel Mission recently. He visited sick children and served food (and smiles) to the less fortunate at the two charities. He is also involved in church and played piano, organ and drums at his church in Los Angeles.
Competition
Gant has played in 105 games during his Husky career with 56 starts. He has helped Washington to three straight NCAA tournament appearances, two Pac-10 tournament championships and one regular-season conference championship. Gant and fellow senior Scott Suggs have a chance to be the first Huskies to play in four-consecutive NCAA tournaments. As a junior, Gant averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds. His value for the Huskies often shows up on the defensive side of the ball, where he matches up with the opponent's top big man. He ranked fourth on the team in rebounds and blocks last season.
Men's Basketball Candidates
Tim Abromaitis, Forward, Notre Dame
William Buford, Guard, Ohio State
Kyle Bullinger, Forward, Weber State
Scott Christopherson, Guard, Iowa State
Darnell Gant, Forward, Washington
Ashton Gibbs, Guard, Pittsburgh
Drew Gordon, Forward, New Mexico
Malcolm Grant, Guard, Miami (Florida)
Draymond Green, Forward, Michigan State
Justin Greene, Forward, Kent State
Reggie Hamilton, Guard, Oakland
Mick Hedgepeth, Forward, Belmont
Robbie Hummel, Forward, Purdue
Bernard James, Forward, Florida State
Orlando Johnson, Guard, UC Santa Barbara
Jarrod Jones, Forward, Ball State
Kevin Jones, Forward, West Virginia
Quinn McDowell, Forward, William and Mary
Darius Miller, Guard, Kentucky
Ronald Nored, Guard, Butler
Zack Novak, Guard/Forward, Michigan
Zack Rosen, Guard, Pennsylvania
Jesse Sanders, Guard, Liberty
Tanner Smith, Guard, Clemson
Jordan Taylor, Guard, Wisconsin
Erving Walker, Guard, Florida
Demetrius Ward, Guard, Western Michigan
Kyle Weems, Forward, Missouri State
Chris Wroblewski, Guard, Cornell
Tyler Zeller, Forward, North Carolina
