Achara Candidate for Lowe's Senior CLASS Awd.

PITTSBURGH - Duquesne University forward/center Kieron Achara (Stirling, Scotland / Maine Central Institute) has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2007-08 men's basketball Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

The award - presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year in eight sports - focuses on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition. Lowe's, an official partner of the NCAA, will award the men's basketball winner with a trophy during the Final Four weekend.

Kieron Achara, who completed his management degree in May with a 3.63 GPA, is currently taking classes in Duquesne's sports leadership graduate program. The 6-10 Stirling, Scotland native was named the 2006-07 Atlantic 10 men's basketball Student Athlete of the Year and is a two-time member of the A-10 men's basketball All-Academic Team. On the floor, Achara was named to the 2006-07 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team and also earned a spot on the A-10 preseason All-Defensive Team. Achara, Duquesne's second-leading all-time shot blocker, ranks second on the Dukes with a 13.9 ppg. scoring average. He enters Wednesday night's game against Pitt needing two points to reach the 1,000-point career mark.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the CLASS Award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.

Achara is one of three Atlantic 10 student-athletes named to the list along with Rhode Island's Will Daniels and Dayton's Brian Roberts. Only one other league - the 16-team Big East - has more nominees than the A-10 with five. The A-10 has produced two of the six winners of the award in Xavier's David West (2003) and Saint Joseph's Jameer Nelson (2004).

A national media committee will pare the list to 10 finalists in January. Those 10 names will be placed on the official national ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the award recipient.

Achara is the first Duquesne player to be nominated for the award. Among the 30 women's basketball candidates are La Salle's Carlene Hightower, Sarah-Jo Lawrence of George Washington and Princeton's Meagan Cowher.

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2007 Lowe Senior Class Award Nominees

Keiron Achara           F/C  Duquesne 
Jarell Brown            G    Army
Brian Butch             F    Wisconsin
Jaycee Carroll          G    Utah State
Will Daniels            F    Rhode Island
Randal Falker           F    Southern Illinois
Shan Foster             G/F  Vanderbilt 
Kentrell Gransberry     C    South Florida	
A. J. Graves            G    Butler 
Cliff Hammonds          G    Clemson
Justin Hare             G    Belmont
Mitch Henke             F    Santa Clara
Roy Hibbert             C    Georgetown
Joseph Jones            F/C  Texas A&M
Alexander (Sasha) Kaun	C    Kansas
Eugene Lawrence         G    St. John's
Jack Leasure            G    Coastal Carolina 
Chris Lofton            G    Tennessee	
Drew Neitzel            G    Michigan State
Matt  Nelson            F    Boise State
DeMarcus Nelson         G    Duke 
David Padgett           C    Louisville
Brian Roberts           G    Dayton
Ty Rogers               G    Western Kentucky
Drew Shubik             G    Sacred Heart
Sean Singletary         G    Virginia
Peyton Stovall          F    Ball State
Jonathan Wallace        G    Georgetown	
Dane Watts              F    Creighton
Kyle Weaver             G    Washington State