BLS Bellsouth Cp

Duke Guard J.J. Redick One of Four Finalists for the Naismith Trophy Presented by Cingular Wireless Fan Voting Through April 2nd Will Help Decide Winner ATLANTA, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- College basketball fans can vote for Duke junior guard J.J. Redick for the recipient of the Naismith Trophy presented by Cingular Wireless, given annually to the men's and women's players of the year in college basketball. Redick, Utah center Andrew Bogut, Wake Forest guard Chris Paul, and Kansas forward Wayne Simien were announced as the four men's finalists for the Trophy by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Sunday. Thanks to Cingular Wireless, college basketball fans this year have an unprecedented voice in deciding who wins the Naismith Trophy. For the first time ever, fan voting, through the power and ease of wireless text messaging will account for 25% of the total. To participate, fans can text message "VOTE" to "26222" to submit their vote (voting is open to most wireless carriers). Voting for the Naismith Trophy concludes on Saturday, April 2 at 9:00 PM EST. The Naismith Trophy College Players of the Year will be announced in St. Louis on Sunday, April 3. Redick, who led the ACC in scoring (22.8 ppg) while also averaging 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, was named first team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the ACC Player of the Year. He helped lead the Blue Devils to a 25-5 record and an ACC Tournament Championship. Last year's Naismith Trophy recipient was Saint Joseph's University guard Jameer Nelson. Other notable men's college player of the year winners include Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Christian Laettner and Tim Duncan. For more information, visit http://www.naismithawards.com/ . About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 50 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation and the largest mobile- to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://www.cingular.com/newsroom . About The Atlanta Tipoff Club The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Bates Grainger of Career Sports Entertainment, +1-770-955-1300, or +1-770-331-6617, or , for Cingular Wireless Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ http://www.cingular.com/newsroom http://www.naismithawards.com/

Copyright