Thompson a Senior CLASS Award Candidate

Nov. 5, 2009

Classroom
Thompson will graduate with a Bachelor's of Arts in communication in May 2010. Thompson was an Academic All-Big 12 Conference First Team member last year and has made academics a priority among a team that has some of the highest standards at Oklahoma. Under head coach Sherri Coale, the women's basketball team has recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in 23 of the past 26 semesters. Thompson has steadily improved her grade point average each year. She has been named a Sooner Scholar in five straight semesters and to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll four times, the Dean's Honor Roll twice and the President's Honor Roll once.

Character
A testament to Thompson's character is that her teammates have voted her team captain since she was a sophomore. An example of her extraordinary teamwork was displayed during the Sooners' 2009 Final Four run when a foot injury kept Thompson out of the starting lineup and on the sidelines for the majority of the games in the NCAA Championship. Thompson used the time as an opportunity to watch each teammate's play and make herself a better, and more vocal leader. She became a coach and mentor on the bench and in practices, helping her teammates work through problems on and off the court. Most recently, Thompson was named OU's student-athlete of the month for October 2009. It's an honor that is awarded to someone who excels in the same four categories as the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and it is one rarely given to a student-athlete outside of their respective sport's playing season. Thompson has also achieved the athletics department's highest service honor for a student-athlete, the Athletics Council Service Award, twice.

Community
Thompson's involvement with numerous community service programs was a key reason the women's basketball team won OU's CHAMPS/Life Skills Award in 2009, beating 17 other sports teams. While her favorite is working with the Sooner Big Sis Program -- where members of OU's women's basketball team read weekly to an elementary school class -- she is involved with countless others. This year, she and her teammates volunteer at Food and Shelter for Friends in Norman, Okla. The organization helps feed, house and educate the estimated 600 homeless and transitioning families in the Sooners' home city. Since arriving at OU, Thompson has participated in numerous initiatives with local charities, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, OU Children's Hospital, Special Spectators, Meals on Wheels and the Mary Abbott Children's House, where she served as a companion and role model to victims of physical and sexual abuse.

Competition
Thompson enters 2009-10 with career averages of 7.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists. She is fifth on OU's career blocks list with 86 and is the first Sooner under 6-foot-2 to record more than 30 blocks in a season, which she has done twice. Thompson has also redefined toughness as a basketball player at Oklahoma. She suffered a torn labrum in her shooting shoulder in December of her freshman year, but opted to play out the year instead of having surgery. Despite the pain, Thompson earned a starting spot for the final nine games of the senior-laden team's season. Her efforts helped OU to a Sweet 16 appearance and a spot on the All-Big 12 Freshman Team. As a junior, she suffered a foot injury that kept her off the court for much OU's NCAA Championship run that ended in the 2009 Final Four.

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2009-10 OU Women's Basketball Schedule

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Amanda Thompson has been selected as a candidate for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

From a list of 30 candidates, a national media committee will select 10 finalists in late January. Those 10 will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote beginning February 3. A fan vote coupled with votes from coaches and media determine the recipient.

The winner will be announced at the Final Four in April.

Oklahoma's Courtney Paris was the 2009 winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School™, the Lowe's 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.

This year's candidate class includes 25 players on the preseason watch lists for the men's and women's John R. Wooden Award, eight men's players who are candidates for the AT&T Naismith Trophy, 11 women's players who are preseason favorites for the State Farm Wade Trophy and three men's and women's players who finished their junior seasons as all-Americans. There are four players recognized last year as ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans. Eleven men's players are from teams ranked in the preseason top 25 poll; while 11 women represent teams ranked in the top 25 women's preseason poll. Of the 60 candidates, 13 have cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher and three have maintained perfect 4.0 GPAs during their collegiate academic careers.


2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Women's Basketball Candidates
Jayne Appel	Stanford
Miranda Ayim	Pepperdine
Amy Beggin	New Mexico
Joy Cheek	Duke
Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee
Allyssa DeHaan	Michigan State
Claire Faucher	Portland State
Kristen Feemster	Western Carolina
Jordan Franey	UC-Santa Barbara
Tyra Grant	Penn State
Alexis Gray-Lawson	California
Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska
Lisa Helmers	Loyola Marymount
Allison Hightower	LSU
Ashley Houts	Georgia
May Kotsopoulos	Vermont
Maggie Krick	Illinois State
Kelsey Luna	Indiana State
Joy McCorvey	St. John's
Danielle McCray	Kansas
Jessica Mooney	Vanderbilt
Jené Morris	San Diego State
Deirdre Naughton	DePaul
Lauren Sims	Long Beach State
Jenna Smith	Illinois
Ashley Sweat	Kansas State
Bianca Thomas	Mississippi
Amanda Thompson	Oklahoma
Jenny Van Kirk	Bradley
Monica Wright	Virginia

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Thompson a Senior CLASS Award Candidate

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