Dec. 19, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Xavier junior forward Derrick Brown is one of 50 candidates named to the prestigious Naismith Award Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club has announced.

Brown leads seventh-ranked Xavier (9-0) in scoring with an average of 14.0 ppg. and is second on the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg.). In his last outing, the Dayton, Ohio, native scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Musketeers' 76-66 win at Cincinnati on Dec. 13. Brown averaged 10.9 points and 6.5 rebounds a year ago and earlier in the season was among 50 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy, along with Temple's Dionte Christmas.

The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2008-09 college basketball season. The watch list does not include incoming freshmen, although those student-athletes will be considered in the first vote in February, 2009. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2009 NCAA Men's Final Four in Detroit, Mich.

"The talent level across all conferences continues to impress, and that will create an even greater challenge for our voting academy when it comes time to select the winner in April," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. "And we look forward to this special season, our 40th anniversary of the most prestigious trophy in all of college basketball."

In February, the Naismith Trophy voting academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, will narrow its early season list to the Top 30 players in the nation. Those players, and others who distinguish themselves throughout the season, will be eligible for the final ballot in March.

For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com