Nov. 1, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.; NOV. 1, 2012 - Penn State senior guard Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) has been named as one of 30 candidates for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award in men's collegiate basketball. The award is presented to the NCAA Division I senior student-athlete with 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 the community. The candidate list will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season for a national ballot that will be distributed for voting by media, coaches and fans who will select one finalist. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta April 6 and 8.
A two-time team captain and unquestioned leader of the Nittany Lions on and off the floor, Frazier was named the preseason All-Big Ten team last week. He returns for his senior campaign after leading the Big Ten in assists (6.2) and finishing second in scoring (18.8) and steals (2.4) during a superlative junior campaign that saw him lead the nation accounting for 58 percent of his team's offense and earn first-team All-Big Ten selection. Also a Big Ten All-Defensive Team selection, Frazier was the only Division I player to average at least 17 points and six assists per game and set a Penn State season assist record with 198. The first Lion to lead the Big Ten in assists and just the third to lead the Big Ten in steals during the conference season, Frazier posted the seventh-best season point total in Penn State history and enters his final campaign needing just 30 points to become the Lions 30th 1,000-point scorer and 157 assists shy of eclipsing the career assist record of 600.
A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection on schedule to graduate in May with a degree in Supply Chain and Information Systems from the Smeal College of Business, Frazier is an outstanding member of the Penn State campus community regularly participating in campus events and fundraisers. He serves as the basketball teams representative to the Penn State Student Athlete Advisory Board and has been active in the Athletic Director's Leadership Institute at Penn State the last three years.
He and his teammates make an annual trip to the Hershey Cancer Institute bringing gifts, encouragement and hope to adult and pediatric patients. In coordination with Penn State's Dance Marathon, Frazier regularly hosts two pediatric cancer patients at Penn State games and functions and he helped coordinate the hosting of Special Olympics athletes at Penn State practices and post practice shoot-arounds. Frazier has served as a volunteer at the Special Olympics Pennsylvania State Summer Games, cleaned local historical sights as part of the United Way Day of Caring and was a part of The Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts Kids Day interacting with young people from across Pennsylvania. He served as Mr. Think Pink to help fundraising for the Penn State Pink Zone and has served as a judge for Penn State Homecoming the last two years.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Men's 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, 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
The Nittany Lions will see their first action of the season Saturday, Nov. 3 with an exhibition contest vs. Philadelphia University. That game will tip at 4:00 p.m. and will be part of a double-header with the Lady Lions tipping off vs. California (Pa.) at 2:00 p.m. Tickets for the game will be a $5 and general admission. Penn State officially opens the 2012-13 season on Friday, Nov. 9 when it takes on Saint Francis in a 7:00 p.m. tip.
Single game tickets for men's basketball are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting GoPSUsports.com/tickets or Ticketmaster. Single-game tickets for Nittany Lion games are $24 for lower bowl seats between the baselines, $18 for the lower bowl behind the baskets and upper level between the baselines and $15 for upper level behind the basket seats for adults and seniors. Youth tickets (18 and under) are $10, while Penn State student tickets (University Park or branch campus) are $5. Penn State also offers special basketball group ticket rates for groups of 25 fans or more, while all groups of 15 or more qualify for a Penn State adjustable hat as a group gift. Nittany Lion group rates are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Interested groups are asked to contact 1-800-NITTANY.
PNC Flex Books are also available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game on Saturday, Jan. 26 vs. Ohio State and the Lady Lions' Think Pink game on Sunday, Feb. 24 vs. Michigan.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Associate Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist (@PSUSTRETCH) and the official Penn State men's basketball handle (@PennStateMBB) on Twitter and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.
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