Vote Bo McCalebb for FIBA Europe Player of the Year
NEW ORLEANS - Former University of New Orleans basketball standout Bo McCalebb is a finalist for 2011 FIBA Europe Player of the Year.
McCalebb is joined in the group of finalists by Andrei Kirilenko, Dimitris Diamantidis, Dirk Nowitzki, Dusko Savanovic, Juan Carlos Navarro, Marc Gasol, Nicolas Batum, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker.
In addition to playing for their respective national teams, Kirilenko, Nowitzki, the Gasol brothers and Parker all played in the NBA during the 2010-11 season. Former winners in the final group include Nowitzki (2005), Kirilenko (2007) and Pau Gasol (2008 & 2009).
Fans can be a part of the voting process for the award that goes to the top player in Europe with ballots accepted through Jan. 31, 2012.
McCalebb enters the voting process after a standout year professionally, both for his Italian squad Montepaschi Siena and Macedonian national team.
Playing for Macedonia, McCalebb earned a spot on the All-FIBA European Championships team after directing the Macedonians to the tournament semifinals and a spot in an Olympic qualifying tournament.
The 'Cinderella Story' of the tournament, McCalebb averaged 21.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game for the country of approximately two million. The team will attempt to win a spot in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in early July with the host site to be determined later this week.
On the professional level, McCalebb led Montepaschi Siena to victories in the Italian League, Italian Basketball Cup and Italian Basketball Supercup.
The highlight of the year was an appearance in the EuroLeague Final Four, the most prestigious professional club tournament outside of the NBA in the world. The showing in the EuroLeague Final Four was the second for McCalebb in two years after leading Partizan Belgrade a year prior.
Prior to his professional career, McCalebb played five seasons on the UNO men's basketball team after starring at O. Perry Walker. The guard scored 2,679 points during his collegiate career to rank as the top scorer in both UNO and Sun Belt Conference history.
