Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Chris Thomas Named a Top 20 Finalist For 2002-03 Naismith Male College Player of the Year

Feb. 19, 2003

Notre Dame, Ind. – Sophomore Chris Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.) is among 20 finalists for the 2002-03 Naismith Male Collegiate Player of the Year award. A national poll was conducted by the Naismith Selection Committee to determine the Top 20 candidates.

The Naismith Male College Player of the Year award, will be presented on April 11, 2003 in Atlanta, Ga., is given annually to the top national collegiate male and female basketball players. The Naismith Selection Committee consists of the National Advisory Board members, NCAA Division I coaches, former Naismith Collegiate Players of the Year winners, NCAA Division I Conference Commissioners and selected media representatives, including college basketball writers, general sports columnists, television sportscasters in the Top 55 markets and television play-by-play and color analysts.

Thomas, the 20 National Freshman of the Year by Basketball Times and Basketball News, is Notre Dame’s second leading scorer this season with a 17.8 scoring average. In addition, he is averaging a team-leading 7.0 assists and 1.8 assists. Currently, the Irish are 20-5 and own an 8-3 ledger in BIG EAST play. Notre Dame is ranked 12th in this week’s Associated Press poll and 10th in the ESPN/USA Today ranking. Thomas also is one of 30 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award.

The other finalists for the Naismith Award include: Mario Austin (Mississippi State), Keith Bogans (Kentucky), Matt Bonner (Florida), Nick Collison (Kansas), Brian Cook (Illinois), Chris Duhon (Duke), T.J. Ford (Texas), Reese Gaines (Louisville), Jason Gardner (Arizona), Jarvis Hayes (Georgia), Kirk Hinrich (Kansas), Josh Howard (Wake Forest), Brandin Knight (Pittsburgh), Kyle Korver (Creighton), Hollis Price (Oklahoma), Mike Sweetney (Georgetown), Dwayne Wade (Marquette), Luke Walton (Arizona) and David West (Xavier).