Davis And Hill Named Preseason Candidates For Naismith Award
11/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State sophomore center Paul Davis (Rochester, Mich.) and junior guard Chris Hill (Indianapolis, Ind.) are two of 30 players selected as preseason candidates for the 2003-04 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Awards.
Hill is a John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-American and a preseason All-Big Ten honoree as selected by the league's coaches and media. He earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore during the 2002-03 season, averaging a team-best 13.7 points per game and 3.7 assists. Hill connected on 95-of-235 three-point field goals during the season, recording the second-best single-season performance in MSU history. In addition, Hill was an NABC All-District 11 Second Team honoree, while earning Third-Team Verizon Academic All-America honors. This past summer, he has played with the USA Basketball Pan American Games Team.
Davis is a John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-American and a preseason All-Big Ten honoree as selected by the league's coaches. He finished his freshman campaign as MSU's fourth-leading scorer at 7.8 points per game, while his 4.7 rebounds ranked second on the squad. He also improved as the season progressed, raising his scoring average to 9.3 points in the postseason. During the NCAA Tournament, Davis averaged 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds to earn All-South Regional honors. This past summer, Davis was the leading scorer (17.7 ppg) and rebounder (8.7 rpg) on the USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team that posted a 7-1 record in Greece.
The Naismith Awards program, now in its 36th year, honors the outstanding college basketball players in the United States. The awards program was founded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of student-athletes in basketball.
Michigan State is one of just six schools to have two candidates, joining Arizona, Connecticut, Duke, Kansas and North Carolina. Illinois' Dee Brown and Indiana's Bracey Wright are the only other Big Ten players on the list.
