Shields Named to Senior CLASS Award List

Nebraska senior Shavon Shields was one of 30 Division I men’s basketball players honored Tuesday, as he was named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award.

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.

A three-year captain, Shields has started 101 consecutive games dating back to his freshman year. This year, he is averaging 15.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists, as he ranks 10th in the Big Ten in scoring and first or second on the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

For his career, he is closing in on NU’s top-10 scoring list with 1,420 points and has 617 career rebounds, and is one of only seven players in school history with 1,400 points and 600 rebounds. In the classroom, Shields was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2015 and a two-time academic All-Big Ten pick and is a nominee for the NABC Allstate Good Works team for his work in the community.

The list will be narrowed to 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 who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four®

Nebraska is one of only four schools (Oklahoma, Gonzaga and Albany) with both a men’s and women’s candidate, as Rachel Theriot was one of 30 women’s players on the Senior Class Award.

Shields and the Huskers return to action Wednesday evening, as the Huskers take on No. 11 Michigan State. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on BTN and carried on the Husker Sports Radio Network.