OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - College of Charleston 6-foot-1 senior point guard Andrew Lawrence (London, England) was among 30 men's college basketball student-athletes to be selected as candidates for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award® in an announcement made on Wednesday.
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.
Lawrence, a recent 2012 London Olympian for his native country of Great Britain, was selected to the 10-member preseason All-Southern Conference Team as one of the top returning players in the league and was tabbed as one of the top 50 points guards in the nation by CBSSports.com. Last year, he was a candidate for the 2012 Bob Cousy Award which is given annually to the nation's top point guard. Lawrence also finished his junior campaign ranked No. 31 nationally in assists per game (5.5 avg) and No. 57 in steals per game (1.9 avg).
A public health major at The College, Lawrence is on track to graduate in May of 2013. He has balanced his school curriculum and athletics well for four years and is a great leader on-and-off the court for the Cougars. As team captain and starting floor general, he leads by example and motivates his teammates to work and play hard.
Outside of school and basketball, Lawrence enjoys visiting with and serving as a positive role model to children in the Lowcountry community in his spare time. He has made several visits to area schools to read and to tell them about his experience as an Olympian as well as being able to spread cheer to young patients at the MUSC Children's Hospital. Back home in England, he helped run a summer basketball tournament for at-risk kids in East London/Stratford. Lawrence and his teammates also did the same for children living on America Street in Downtown Charleston.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the 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.
The men's Senior CLASS Award® winner will be announced in conjunction with the 2013 NCAA Men's Final Four® on April 6 and 8 in Atlanta, Ga.
The candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one men's finalist and one women's finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition.
For more information on all the candidates, visit www.SeniorCLASSaward.com.
2012-13 SENIOR CLASS AWARD® MEN'S BASKETBALL CANDIDATES
God'sgift Achiuwa, St. John's (N.Y.)
O.D. Anosike, Siena
Ben Averkamp, Loyola (Chicago)
Brian Barbour, Columbia
Jared Berggren, Wisconsin
Isaiah Canaan, Murray State
Drew Crawford, Northwestern
Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary's
Tim Frazier, Penn State
Mike Groselle, The Citadel
C.J. Harris, Wake Forest
Jordan Hulls, Indiana
Gabe Knutson, Lehigh
JP Kuhlman, Davidson
Andrew Lawrence, College of Charleston
Jonathan Lee, Northeastern
Scott Martin, Notre Dame
C.J. McCollum, Lehigh
Brock Motum, Washington State
Mike Muscala, Bucknell
Robert Olson, Loyola (Maryland)
Brandon Paul, Illinois
Mason Plumlee, Duke
Colt Ryan, Evansville
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Andrew Smith, Butler
Michael Snaer, Florida State
Marc Trasolini, Santa Clara
Jeff Withey, Kansas
Nate Wolters, South Dakota State
