Okafor and Calhoun to be honored
Sunday at NCAA Final Four

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA (April 4, 2003)-- University of Connecticut sophomore Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX) has been chosen as the 2002-03 National Defensive Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), while UConn Head Coach Jim Calhoun has been selected to receive the prestigious Metropolitan Award from the NABC. Both Okafor and Calhoun will be presented with their awards at a banquet Sunday evening, April 6 at the Hilton hotel in New Orleans as part of the NCAA Final Four festivities.

Okafor was a landslide choice for the National Defensive Player of the Year honor in a vote of a national panel of coaches. He is also a 2002-03 NABC Third Team All-American. He is the national leader in blocked shots in 2002-03 and holds both the Connecticut career and single season records for blocked shots. His career blocked shot average of 4.38 per game is No. 7 all-time in NCAA history. The award is scheduled to be presented to Okafor Sunday evening by Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.

Calhoun will receive the Metropolitan Award, given by the NABC on behalf of the National Invitation Tournament and the Metropolitan Basketball Association. The award is given annually for continued outstanding service for the enhancement and betterment of college basketball. Previous winners of the award include Mike Tranghese, John Thompson, Dean Smith, Lou Carneseca, Dave Gavitt, Curt Gowdy, John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, Joe Lapchick and Phog Allen. The award is scheduled to be presented to Coach Calhoun Sunday evening by Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith.

Okafor leads the country with 4.7 blocked shots per contest this season and he is currently No. 7 in the nation in rebounding at 11.2 per contest. He averaged 15.9 points per game and led the BIG EAST Conference with 22 double-doubles. He also earned a spot on the Verizon Academic All-America First Team and was a First Team All-BIG EAST selection. He is the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Calhoun led the Huskies to a 23-10 mark in 2002-03, advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Huskies earned a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament Championship game. Coach Calhoun missed five games while undergoing prostate cancer surgery, but returned to the sidelines only 15 days after surgery. He has a career coaching record of 647-296 in 31 seasons and is 399-159 in 17 seasons at Connecticut.