per Duke Sports Information:
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Duke men’s basketball guard Grayson Allen is one of 30 NCAA men’s basketball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually to the senior who excels both on and off the court.
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.
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 list of 30 candidates will be narrowed to a field of 10 finalists in February, and those 10 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 candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character, and competition.
Allen, Duke’s lone captain for the 2017-18 team, is averaging 17.4 points, while leading the ACC in three-pointers per game (2.93) and ranking eighth in the conference in assists per game (4.43). The Jacksonville, Fla., native has played 119 career games for the Blue Devils and is on pace to finish as the program’s 12th 2,000-point scorer. This season, Allen was a preseason first-team All-ACC pick, a preseason All-American from a number of outlets, and a preseason candidate for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Jerry West Award.
Allen is a three-time All-ACC Academic Team honoree and a 2016 Academic All-American. Off the court, Allen has routinely volunteered his time at the Duke Children’s Hospital and the Emily K Center, the mission of which is to inspire students to dream big, act with character and purpose and reach their potential as leaders in their communities. Allen and his teammates are involved with the Read with the Blue Devils program, which seeks to aid area teachers in encouraging children to read at an early age. Allen also has volunteered his time to youth basketball clinics, several of which were held in Jacksonville.
Duke has enjoyed a long history with the Senior CLASS Award, as J.J. Redick was named the winner in 2006, while Shane Battier was the inaugural winner in 2001 with his story helping set the foundation for the Senior CLASS Award.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Men’s Final Four® and NCAA Women’s Final Four® this spring. For more information on each of the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
No. 2 Duke (13-1, 1-1) is back in action Saturday at NC State at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award.
