ALEX GROSS NAMED FINALIST FOR THE BEVO FRANCIS AWARD
RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball senior big man Alex Gross was honored by Small College Basketball as a finalist for the Bevo Francis Award. The organization announced the nine finalists for the award via YouTube and their website on Saturday evening.
Gross becomes the second Tiger to be named a finalist joining Nic Reed, who was a finalist in 2020. Gross is the only Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) player and one of three NAIA players to be named a finalist for this prestigious award.
Gross had a phenomenal season for the Tigers. The Tiger big man led the NAIA in variety of categories which includes total points (808), rebounds a game (14.1), total rebounds (480), total defensive rebounds (393), and blocks (110). Gross also was second with 318 made field goals and fifth with 192 assists and with 23.8 points a game. Earlier this season, Gross broke the program record for the most rebounds in a single-season with 480 rebounds.
Gross has made his mark here at ONU becoming the fifth player to score over 2,000 points in his career as he finished with 2,021 points. Gross is also first in program history with 363 blocks second with 1,226 rebounds, fourth with 815 made field goals, and is seventh with 379 free throws made. This season, Gross has recorded three triple-doubles, and 31 double-doubles.
Gross earned seven CCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week, three NAIA Men's Basketball Player of the Week selections, and earned an NAIA and NABC First Team All-America selection. In the classroom, Gross was also a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America selection as well as the NAIA Men's Basketball CoSIDA Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. As a team, the Tigers finished with a program record 31 wins including 21 wins in league play.
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
The winner will be announced on Monday, April 4th.
--ONU--
*Contact: Sam Viebrock, Sports Information Director, stviebrock@olivet.edu