ATLANTA, Ga. – Though he would rather be playing for a national championship, Mason Plumlee will still be taking some hardware home from this weekend’s NCAA Final Four in Atlanta. The 6-foot-10, 235-pound senior on Duke University’s men’s basketball team has been named the recipient of this year’s Pete Newell Big Man Award. Named after the legendary coach who ran a camp for centers from 1976 until he died in 2008, the award is presented annualy to the top post player in the nation by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Plumlee, who grew up in Warsaw, where he attended Jefferson Elementary, Lakeview Middle School and Warsaw Community High School as a freshman, will be presented the award during a ceremony Saturday. “I’d rather be playing for a national championship, but this is a nice consolation prize,” Plumlee said in a phone conversation Wednesday afternoon. “It’s an honor to get an award like this. We played the toughest schedule in the country this season, and I got to play against some of the best big men in the country. So, to win an award like this is a real honor.” Anthony Davis, who left Kentucky University after his freshman season and was the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, won the award last year. Amongh those that have received the award since its inception in 2000 are Blake Griffin, Greg Oden, Emeka Okafor, Michael Beasley, Andrew Bogut, JaJaun Johnson and Marcus Fizer. “You look at the list of guys who have won this award, that’s some prety good company,” said Plumlee. “Those guys are great players. They had great college careers and made a lot of money in the NBA.” Leading the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight of the national tournament and a 30-6 record, Plumlee averaged 17.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks per game this season. Plumlee shot 59.9 percent from the field and was the first Duke player to average a double-double since Shelden Williams did during the 2005-2006 season. He was in the starting lineup for 100 of the 141 games he played during his Duke career and finished with 1,384 points and 1,085 rebounds. Plumlee has also been named to the John R. Wooden All-America Team, as well as the USBWA, NABC and Associated Press All-America Teams.
