Mance Named National Semifinalist for Basketball Student Athlete of the Year Award

Rice senior guard Omar-Seli Mance has been named one of three finalists for the new national Men’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year Award.

The award, sponsored by the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau, recognizes men and women student-athletes for their athletic, academic, and community achievement.

Mance co-led the Owls in scoring with 15.2 points per game, and he helped lead Rice to 19 wins, one of the program’s highest victory totals in almost 60 years. He was named second-team all-Western Athletic Conference after ranking among the league leaders in scoring, shooting percentage, assists, steals, three-point field goals, and three-point percentage. ESPN commentator Dick Vitale hand-picked Mance as one of the top players in the WAC, and the Internet site CollegeInsider.com named him the Most Valuable Player in the league in its annual round-up of postseason basketball honors.

The native of Stone Mountain, Georgia, is an outstanding student who juggled Division I basketball and Rice’s rugged academic load majoring in mathematics. He is a two-time selection to the GTE/CoSIDA District VI academic all-star team, making him eligible for NCAA Academic All-American.

Mance is also a selfless volunteer on and off campus. At Rice, he serves on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Black Student Union. Off campus, he is involved in the His Grace Foundation, whose members visit area hospitals to lift the spirits of children staying there, and the Dream to Read Program, whose members visit elementary schools and challenge kids to read and make good grades.