Senior CLASS Award Candidates | Hill Profile
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Fighting Illini men's basketball senior Malcolm Hill is one of 30 NCAA men's basketball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
Hill excels both on and off the court. In the classroom, he carries a 3.0 cumulative GPA, is a reigning Academic All-Big Ten honoree and will graduate with a bachelor's degree in media and cinema studies in May 2017. He's active in the community, visiting many kids clinics and elementary school visits, speaking to crowds at alumni and booster club events and also to youngsters at the local Boys & Girls Club. Hill also participates annually in the Make a Wish Illinois' Walk and Run for Wishes.
On the court, Hill is currently averaging 18.7 pointer per game, second-most in the Big Ten, and recently surpassed the 1,500 career point mark. Last season, he was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree and was named to the USBWA All-District V team after being the first Illini ever to record 600 points, 200 rebounds and 100 assists in a single season He scored a career-high 40 points in a win over Northern Kentucky earlier this season.
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.
Among the 60 male and female candidates, all are in excellent academic standing with 10 having grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher. Five of this year's candidates were 2015-16 CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-Americans®, and 20 returned to the court this season after receiving All-America honors for their performances a year ago. Each of the candidates also volunteers his or her time with charitable organizations and causes while upholding a reputation for positive character on campus and in the community.
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to fields of 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four® and NCAA Women's Final Four® this spring. For more information on each of the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
