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LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College guard Brandon Jones (Sr., Philadelphia, PA/Germantown Friends) has been named a finalist for the Fourth Annual V Foundation Comeback Player of the Year Award. The award is presented in partnership with ESPN and will be announced during ESPN's basketball NCAA Division I Final Four/NIT weekend coverage. The award is give annually to a collegiate level basketball student-athlete, male or female, who has accomplished a personal triumph in the face of true adversity, be it health, life or moral dilemma. One of the team's first players off the bench as a junior, Jones was forced to the sidelines this summer as he suffered from a degenerative disk condition. He appeared in 30 games last season and averaged 12 minutes per outing. During the season, he learned that he had two herniated disks in his back. He played on, ignoring the pain in his lower torso, and finished the season. During the off season, he had surgery on August 26 to correct the condition. Rather than step away from the game, he accepted a position as an assistant coach under all-time NCAA Division III wins leader Glenn Robinson at the College and helped lead the team to a #14 national ranking as the team's spiritual leader. However, Jones' goal of once again playing came true as in the closing minutes of a 75-52 rout of Muhlenberg College at home in the Mayser Center on February 21, he stepped back onto the court. This year, he has appeared in three games playing six minutes with three points as the Diplomats won the 2004 Centennial Conference Championship, earned a #9 national ranking and defeated #6 Hampden-Sydney College in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament to advance and host the "Sweet 16" on March 12-13. The other finalists for the Comeback Award are: Delvar Barrett, Ohio University; Darrahyl Brown, Kalamazoo Valley Community College; Noah Brown, Appalachian State University; Jamie Carey, University of Texas; Martha Chaput, Drake University; Dax Crum, Arizona Western College; Grant Dykstra, Western Washington University; Brittney Kroon, Seattle Pacific University; Michael Lovern, St. Mary’s College of Maryland; Lindsay Meek, Baldwin-Wallace College; Brendon Merritt, Eastern Washington University; Ryan Odaffer, Pittsburg State University; Charles Tatum, University of Arkansas. The award is presented in memory of Jim Valvano, late basketball coach and ESPN commentator, whose personal battle with cancer inspired the creation of The V Foundation. In his memorable speech at ESPN’s inaugural ESPY Awards announcing the creation of The V Foundation, Valvano's "Don't Give Up. . .Don't Ever Give Up!"® motto created a legacy from which the Comeback Award has been created. "I never cease to be amazed at the incredible strength and resilience of the young people who are nominated for The V Foundation Comeback Award every year," said Foundation CEO Nick Valvano. "This award is very special to us not only because it recognizes young people who are outstanding student-athletes in their own right, but each has also faced tremendous adversity and challenges with incredible determination and strength. "Every single one of these finalists truly captures the spirit of what embodies The V Foundation, the Never Give Up attitude which symbolizes their individual comebacks," Valvano continued. "I would be honored to have my brother's name be remembered with each and every one of them." Past recipients of the award are Purdue’s Katie Douglas (2001), Western Michigan’s Kristin Koetsier (2002) and the 2003 recipient Justin Allen of Arizona State. More than 50 student-athletes were nominated by their institutions for the 2004 V Foundation Comeback Award. The finalists represent a wide range of compelling stories of young men and women from all types of universities, basketball programs and personal challenges. The recipient will be selected by an eight-member sub-committee of The V Foundation Board of Directors. The V Foundation for Cancer Research was started in 1993 by ESPN and Jim Valvano. To date, the foundation has funded more than 190 cancer research grants and raised in excess of $32 million. More information on the V Foundation is available online at www.jimmyv.org. The Diplomats' season will continue this weekend in the NCAA Sectionals on March 12-13 as F&M will host the "Sweet 16" and the "Elite Eight" contests for the first time since 1996 when the Diplomats dropped RPI (74-58 W) and Wilkes (107-70 W) on their way to the NCAA Final Four. The Diplomats will begin the sectionals on Friday at 8:00 p.m. versus Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Champion and #18 nationally ranked Gwynedd-Mercy College (26-2). The Griffins come to Lancaster following a 74-72 overtime victory at home over Catholic University in the NCAA second round as the Griffins survived a late CUA bucket to advance to the Sweet 16 showdown with the Diplomats. Historically, the game will mark the first-ever meeting between F&M and Gwynedd-Mercy in men's basketball. Further, it will mark the first of two possible meetings between the two squads as the Griffins agreed last month to attend the 2005 Lancaster Rotary Tip-Off the New Year Tournament in the Mayser Center on January 3-4, 2005. In the other sectional game, the #5 Amherst Lord Jeffs (25-3) will clash with the #31 New Jersey City Gothic Knights (22-6) at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the "Elite Eight" game is set for 7:00 p.m. with the winner advancing to Salem, Virginia and the NCAA "Final Four" for a shot at the 2004 National Championship on March 19-20.
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