February 1, 1999

Providence, R.I. - Providence College basketball standout, JAMEL THOMAS (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) has been added to the list of nominees for the 1999 John R. Wooden Award and All-American Team. Thomas, the BIG EAST's leading scorer joins the list of 30 who were nominated on December 29th by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Thomas and nine others, including St. John's Ron Artest and George Washington's Shawnta Rogers, join the first 30 nominated. From that list, a ballot of 15 players will be chosen from which voters will select the Wooden All-American Team and the Wooden Award Trophy as the "outstanding collegiate basketball player in the United States. The announcement of the team and the Wooden Award itself will be made on Friday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time from the Los Angeles Athletic Club and televised live by FOX Sports Net.

Thomas ended January leading the Friars in scoring (22.1) and rebounding (7.0). The 22.1 points per game is tops in the BIG EAST and ranks eighth in the nation. The All-BIG EAST and All-American candidate has been the Friars' "go-to-guy" the last two seasons. He is currently sixth on PC's all-time scoring list with 1,775 career points. He has been in double figures in scoring in 54 consecutive games dating back to his sophomore campaign. Earlier this year, he became the PC's all-time leader in three-point field goals (180) and three-point attempts (527).