KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bradley senior guard Walt Lemon, Jr. (Chicago, Ill./Julian H.S.) enjoyed one of the best all-around statistical seasons in Missouri Valley Conference history in 2012-13, but on Wednesday he was honored as one of college basketball's top all-around student-athletes by being listed among 30 nationwide candidates for the 2013-14 Senior CLASS Award.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The list of 30 men's basketball candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four “Cs” of community, classroom, character and competition.
A 6-foot-3 point guard, Lemon begins his senior season at Bradley as The Valley's active scoring leader with 1,146 career points. He earned NABC All-District 16 first team honors last year when he joined Braves legend Hersey Hawkins as the only players in MVC history to record at least 500 points (545), 100 rebounds (147), 100 assists (133) and 70 steals (75) in a single season. He became the fourth player in Bradley history to lead the team in both scoring (15.6 ppg) and assists (3.8 apg), his 75 steals tied for 20th nationally and he led the Braves with 128 defensive rebounds.
Off the court, Lemon is a two-time, first-team Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete and he earned a spot on the 2013 NABC Honors Court by boasting a 3.29 cumulative grade point average as a psychology major.
Lemon is actively involved with his Bradley teammates in several community service activities, most-recently volunteering for a third consecutive year at the Methodist Medical Center Hospice program Kourage Kids Camp, which is designed to assist young people grieving the loss of a loved one. The Braves also have added two honorary team members for the 2013-14 season, brothers Johnah (5) and Jarret (9) Sahr, interacting with the two youngsters regularly as Johnah continues his recovery from Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma. Both programs hit home for Lemon, who lost his father, Walt Lemon, Sr., to kidney cancer as a high school student.
For more information on the Senior CLASS Award, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Lemon and the Braves will return to action Saturday when they wrap up the preseason schedule with a 1 p.m. exhibition game at Carver Arena against West Virginia Wesleyan, which is coached by former Bradley director of operations Patrick Beilein. In Bradley's first local exhibition Monday night, Lemon scored 38 points in an 85-83 win against Upper Iowa, delivering the game-winning basket with 0.2 seconds left and unofficially matching Bob Carney's single-game school record with 26 free throw attempts.
Bradley Athletics Mission
Provide every student-athlete the opportunity for both a distinctive education and a championship experience
Accountability | Courage | Diligence | Integrity | Respect
