Andrew Bogut Wins Naismith Trophy Presented by Cingular Wireless

ST. LOUIS, Mo., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Andrew Bogut, the University of Utah's standout center, tonight was named the Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year presented by Cingular Wireless, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced. Bogut accepted the award at the National Association of Basketball Coaches' "Guardians of the Game" Awards Show.

(Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050403/NYSU043 )

The Naismith Trophy was presented to Bogut by Atlanta Tipoff Club Chairman Jim Williams and Cingular Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Marc Lefar. The Naismith Trophy is given annually to the men's and women's college players of the year and is the most prestigious national award in college basketball. The other Naismith Trophy finalists were Chris Paul of Wake Forest, J.J. Redick of Duke and Wayne Simien of Kansas.

Bogut was selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors -- a collection of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country -- and, for the first time, the fans. This year, through the power and ease of text messaging, fans accounted for an unprecedented 25% of the Board of Selectors' overall vote. The results were certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP.

"There is no question that Andrew is the top college player in the country," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. "He had an extraordinary season in leading Utah and clearly has a long and successful career ahead of him. He is well deserving of this year's Naismith Trophy."

Bogut, a 7'0" center, averaged 20.4 points and 12.2 rebounds per game this year. The sophomore ranked first in the nation in double-doubles and scored in double figures in 37 consecutive games dating back to the final two games of last season. He led the Mountain West Conference in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage and ranked third in blocked shots.

"Andrew had an outstanding year and he is an extremely worthy recipient of the Naismith Trophy," said Marc Lefar, chief marketing officer for Cingular Wireless. "I'd like to thank all of the fans who participated in the voting and made this year's award special."

A starter for Australia's 2004 Summer Olympic team, Bogut started every game in his two-year career at Utah. He led the Utes to a 29-6 record, won the Mountain West Conference and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament this season.

Bogut was honored as the Associated Press Player of the Year, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and the USBWA District 8 Player of the Year. The five-time MWC Player of the Week was recognized as a USBWA and NABC First Team All-American.

For more information, visit http://www.naismithawards.com/. ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB

The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since UCLA's Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969.

ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS

Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 49 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corporation , has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation and the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover, the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/. Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://www.cingular.com/newsroom .