Jones Named 2004 Men's Basketball Lacy Linchpin Award Recipient

LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College senior Brandon Jones (Sr., Philadelphia, PA/Germantown Friends) has been named the winner of the 2004 men's basketball "Lacy Linchpin" Award.

Winners of the Lacy Linchpin Award, presented on behalf of Dr. and Mrs. O.W. Lacy in memory of their daughter Lucinda Puryear Lacy '76, are selected by a committee chaired by Dr. Lacy.

The award is presented to "a member of the women's and men's basketball teams who have been a linchpin or cornerstone of the team - someone who is quietly modest, scrupulously fair, uprightly honorable and steadfastly diligent in practice, in the game, in the classroom and on- and off-campus."

The recipients of the award will receive a framed certificate in recognition of the award and have their names engraved on a plaque on display in the lobby of F&M's Mayser Center.

One of the team's first players off the bench as a junior, Jones was forced to the sidelines this summer as he suffered from a degenerative disk condition.

A finalist for the Jimmy V Foundation/ESPN "Comeback Player of the Year", he appeared in 30 games last season and averaged 12 minutes per outing. During the season, he learned that he had two herniated disks in his back. He played on, ignoring the pain in his lower torso, and finished the season. During the off season, he had surgery on August 26 to correct the condition. Rather than step away from the game, he accepted a position as an assistant coach under all-time NCAA Division III wins leader Glenn Robinson at the College and helped lead the team to a #14 national ranking as the team's spiritual leader.

However, Jones' goal of once again playing came true as in the closing minutes of a 75-52 rout of Muhlenberg College at home in the Mayser Center on February 21, he stepped back onto the court.

This year, he appeared in four games going two-for-four from the field and one-of-two at the free-throw line for five points with two assists as the Diplomats recorded a 26-4 record, captured the Centennial Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Overall, the tournament berth marked the 19th in the history of men's basketball at the College as the team earned NCAA bids in 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986-1996, 1999 and 2000, including appearances in four Final Fours (1979, 1991, 1996, 2000).

F&M, which knocked off Hampden-Sydney 78-76 in the round of 32, defeated Gwynedd Mercy (92-72 W) in the "Sweet 16", but fell to Amherst 82-70 in the "Elite Eight" to conclude the season among the top eight teams in the nation.

For F&M, which concluded the year with the 19th 20-win season under head coach Glenn Robinson (674-235), the team's record marked the program's best mark and highest winning percentage (.867) since the 1996 team concluded the year 29-3 (.906) in the NCAA "Final Four".