Friday, December 19, 2008

KANSAS CITY, MO. - Belmont University men's basketball senior Andy Wicke (Hendersonville, Tenn.) has been selected as a candidate for the 2008-09 Lowe's Senior Class Award for men's basketball.

One of only seven players in all of college basketball this season with the opportunity to earn a fourth consecutive automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Wicke has been a leader on and off the court for the Bruin program.

The 6-2 guard is 53 points shy of becoming just the eighth Bruin in the NCAA era to score 1,000 or more career points. Wicke's passion, intensity and consistency on both ends of the floor is a major reason why Belmont continues to be a force at the mid major level.

Through games of Dec. 14, Wicke stands ninth in the NCAA in steals per game (3.0) and 16th in three-point field goal percentage (.500). The tough-minded fifth-year senior paces the Atlantic Sun Conference in steals per game, three-pointers per game, and three-point field goal percentage.

Moreover, Wicke - a 2006 Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team member and 2007 Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team honoree - scored 14 points in Belmont's near-upset of three-time National Champion Duke in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

But, the Hendersonville, Tenn. native's accomplishments are far reaching. A perennial member of the Atlantic Sun Academic All-Conference team, Wicke is on schedule to graduate with honors in environmental studies this coming May before pursuing dental school.

Wicke's outgoing nature and giving spirit has also manifested in countless on-campus and community outreach efforts. Among them, Wicke has been a part of Belmont Athletics' sports evangelism mission trips to Ukraine, Venezuela and Brazil whereby student-athletes share basketball and their personal faith with thousands of underprivileged locals. He plans to accompany trip leader Betty Wiseman on the 2009 mission trip to South Africa.