Tucker Wins Senior CLASS Award
March 31, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Wisconsin senior forward Alando Tucker was named the 2006-07 Lowe's Senior CLASS Awards winner in a presentation Saturday on CBS. The award, selected by a nationwide vote of coaches, media and fans, is presented annually to college basketball's outstanding NCAA Division I senior student-athlete.
'I am honored to receive this prestigious award and be mentioned with all the distinguished past winners, 'Tucker said. 'I pride myself in being a well-rounded student-athlete, succeeding on and off the court, and I am thankful that the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award recognizes that. With this being my senior year, I hope that I have provided a good example for my teammates at the University of Wisconsin to follow.'
On the court, Tucker was named the Big Ten Player of the Year this season and a consensus first-team All-American. He led the Badgers to a school-record 30 wins and their first No. 1 ranking in school history. Off the court, Tucker is expected to graduate in May, was UW's representative at the 2006 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference and hopes to build or renovate a the community center in his hometown of Lockport, Ill.
'In my 35 years of coaching, I have never had a player who epitomized the pure student-athlete better than Alando Tucker,' Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. 'His leadership and work ethic put him in a class by himself. This is a very deserving honor. '
Tucker is the sixth winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and the first from the Big Ten. Previous winners of the men's award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph's (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005) and J.J. Redick of Duke (2006).
'This is an extremely exciting time of year for us at Lowe's because awarding the Senior CLASS Award is about so much more than honoring talented athletes, ' said Bob Gfeller, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising at Lowe 's. 'The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award is about acknowledging hard-working students who embody the spirit of their communities. Alando has set a great example for us as he reflects on the goals he has accomplished and the promising future ahead of him.'
The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award also names an All-Senior All-America Team each year based on the voting results of the finalists. Joining Tucker on the 2006-07 first team were Acie Law of Texas A&M, Adam Haluska of Iowa, Curtis Sumpter of Villanova and Nick Fazekas of Nevada.
