OFFICAL PRESS RELEASE

Wheaton, Ill. – Wheaton College senior Tim McCrary has been selected as one of 10 male finalists for the 2012 Jostens Trophy. The Jostens Trophy honors the most outstanding Division III basketball players of the year, considering basketball ability, academic prowess and community service.

McCrary's selection marks the seventh time in the 15-year history of the award that a Wheaton player has been tabbed as a finalist. Joel Kolmodin was a Jostens Trophy finalist in 2003 and 2004; Jon Nielson was a finalist for the award in 2005; Kent Raymond made the final-10 in 2008 and 2009 and Ben Panner was a finalist for the award in 2010.

McCrary is a Business and Economics major at Wheaton and holds a cumulative GPA of 3.54. The 2012 recipient of the CCIW's “Fred Young Most Outstanding Player Award”, he and the Thunder will participate in the 2012 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament beginning on Friday. McCrary leads the Thunder in scoring with 18.2 points per game and averages a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game. McCrary has shot 52.8% (177-335) from the field this year with 3.2 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game.

McCrary has started every game in his four seasons with the Thunder and his 111 games played is the fourth-highest total in school history. McCrary has tallied 1,709 career points to stand in eighth place on Wheaton's all-time scoring list. The senior is fifth in school history with 889 career rebounds and his 403 career assists is fourth in Wheaton's record books. The versatile forward is the first player in NCAA Division III history to score at least 1,700 career points, with 800 rebounds and 400 assists.

2012 JOSTENS TROPHY MEN'S FINALISTS
Tim McCrary, Wheaton College
Seth Anderson, Gustavus Adolphus
Matt Carr, WPI
Felix Friedt, Whitworth
Matt Johnson, University of Chicago
Spencer Liddic, Muhlenberg
Ryan Sharry, Middlebury
Aaron Van Klaveren, Cal Lutheran
Aris Wurtz, Ripon
Jordan Zimmer, Illinois Wesleyan

The Jostens Trophy award presentation is scheduled for Thursday, March 15 at the Salem Civic Center in conjunction with the Men's Division III Championship being hosted in Salem, Va., on March 16-17. The Jostens Trophy is a national award created by the Rotary Club of Salem, Va., to honor the most outstanding men's and women's Division III basketball players of the year. The award takes into account three vital parts: basketball ability, academic prowess and community service. The trophy models the Rotary motto of “Service above Self” by recognizing those who truly fit the ideal of the well-rounded Division III student-athlete. This year's class marks the 15th year the award has been presented.