Oct. 22, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland's Steve Blake, the senior point guard of the defending national champion Terrapins, joins Nick Collison, Jason Gardner, Luke Walton and David West among the list of men's pre-season candidates for the 2002-2003 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award. Jackie Bradford, President of the Atlanta Tipoff Club, announced the candidates on Monday.

The Naismith Awards program, now in its 35th year, honors the outstanding college basketball players in the United States. The awards program was founded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of student-athletes in basketball.

The candidates were selected by a vote of the Board of Selectors comprised of leading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball analysts. Members of the board were asked to name top male and female players who are most likely to be in contention for the award.

"Both the men's and women's fields, from top to bottom, are extremely talented," said Bradford. "The race for the Naismith Award will once again be very competitive and exciting."

Blake, who has started in 105 games through each of his first three college seasons, has directed Maryland to back-to-back Final Four appearances, including last season's championship. His 751 career assists already are a school record and are on pace to challenge the NCAA's leading assist-makers of all time. Only three players have ever recorded 1,000 assists in a career. He needs just 152 assists to move among the top 10 assist leaders in NCAA history. He needs just 31 assists to move among the top five in ACC history and top 25 overall.

The pre-season candidates for the Naismith Awards, listed in alphabetical order, are as follows:

2002-03 Pre-Season Naismith Candidates
Mario Austin, Mississippi State
Troy Bell, Boston College                 
Steve Blake, Maryland         
Keith Bogans, Kentucky
Matt Bonner, Florida
Nick Collison, Kansas
Brian Cook, Illinois
Erwin Dudley, Alabama
Chris Duhon, Duke
Andre Emmett, Texas Tech
T.J. Ford, Texas
Reece Gaines, Louisville
Jason Gardner, Arizona
Jarvis Hayes, Georgia
Kirk Hinrich, Kansas
Josh Howard, Wake Forest
Jason Kapono, UCLA
Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh
Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky
Brett Nelson, Florida
Hollis Price, Oklahoma
Darius Rice, Miami - FL
Rick Rickert, Minnesota
Luke Ridnour, Oregon
Mike Sweetney, Georgetown
Chris Thomas, Notre Dame
Dwayne Wade, Marquette
Luke Walton, Arizona
Travis Watson, Virginia
David West, Xavier