April 10, 2012

NEW ORLEANS, LA -- D.J. Cooper has been named to the 2012 Lute Olson All-America Team and CollegeInsider.com named him the Mid-American Conference's Most Valuable Player.

This past season, Cooper helped the Bobcats reach the Sweet 16 by leading the team in scoring and assists. The junior guard also finished 15th in the nation in steals per game.

Cooper broke the Ohio career mark for assists this season and currently needs one more steal to hold the Bobcat career mark in that category. The Cousy Award finalist became the first two-time All-MAC First Team selection from Ohio since Jerome Tillman ('07, '09) and consecutive first-team choice since Brandon Hunter did it three times ('01-03).

Creighton's Doug McDermott was the recipient of the 2012 Lute Olson National Player of the Year award presented annually to the nation's top Division I player who has played at least two seasons with his respective team. Freshmen and first-year transfers can be named to the All-America team, but are not eligible to receive the Player of the Year honors.

The award and team are named in honor of coaching great Lute Olson, who won 780 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.

The award was presented and the team unveiled at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet in New Orleans, site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

2012 LUTE OLSON ALL-AMERICA TEAM