Dec. 4, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas senior Sasha Kaun is among the nation's top 30 senior male and college basketball players who exemplify a total student-athlete were announced today as the official candidates for the 2007-08 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

Kaun looks to become the second Jayhawk to win the honor as former All-American Wayne Simien was the 2005 Senior CLASS Award winner.

Kaun has started five games for No. 3 Kansas (7-0) and leads the team field goal percentage at 80 percent. The Melbourne, Fla., native born in Tomsk, Russia, is averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds his senior season. Kaun leads the team with 13 blocked shots and his 1.86 blocks per game are third in the Big 12.

The award - which also listed the top 30 females - is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student - Athlete of the Year in eight sports - focuses on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition. Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA will award the winners with trophies during the respective men's and women's NCAA Final Four weekends.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the 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 and complete college education brings.

Now in its seventh year for basketball, the award has developed into the nation's premier tribute for college seniors. Since originating with basketball, Lowe's has expanded the award to include a total of eight NCAA sports.

The list of basketball candidates includes a broad spectrum of universities and conferences across the country. On the men's side, 29 different schools are represented with Georgetown University being the only team with two candidates. Players from 17 different conferences are among the male nominees.

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

2007-08 Men's Candidates (listed alphabetical)

Name, School, Height, Class, Pos.

Keiron Achara, Duquesne, 6'10', Sr., F/C

Jarell Brown, United States Military Academy, 6'2", Sr., G

Brian Butch, Wisconsin, 6'11", Sr., F/C

Jaycee Carroll, Utah State, 6'2", Sr., G

Will Daniels, Rhode Island, 6'8", Sr., F

Randal Falker, Southern Illinois, 6'7", Sr., F

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt, 6'6", Sr., G/F

Kentrell Gransberry, South Florida, 6'9", Sr., C

A.J. Graves, Butler, 6'1", Sr., G

Cliff Hammonds, Clemson, 6'3", Sr., G

Justin Hare, Belmont, 6'2", Sr., G

Mitch Henke, Santa Clara, 6'7", Sr., F

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown, 7'2", Sr., F

Joseph Jones, Texas A&M, 6'9", Sr., F/C

Sasha Kaun, KANSAS, 6'11", SR., C

Eugene Lawrence, Saint John's, 6'1", Sr., G

Jack Leasure, Coastal Carolina, 6'3", Sr., G

Chris Lofton, Tennessee, 6'2", Sr., G

Drew Neitzel, Michigan State, 6'0", Sr., G

Matt Nelson, Boise State, 6'9", Sr., F

DeMarcus Nelson, Duke, 6'4", Sr., G

David Padgett, Louisville, 6'11", Sr., F/C

Brian Roberts, Dayton, 6'2", Sr., G

Ty Rogers, Western Kentucky, 6'3", Sr., G

Drew Shubik, Sacred Heart, 6'4", Sr., G

Sean Singletary, Virginia, 6'0", Sr., G

Peyton Stovall, Ball State, 6'1", Sr., G

Jonathan Wallace, Georgetown, 6'1", Sr., G

Dane Watts, Creighton, 6'8", Sr., F

Kyle Weaver, Washington State, 6'6", Sr., G