Feb. 20, 2005

LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's basketball senior forward Odartey Blankson has been selected as a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) Division I All-District Teams, announced by the NABC.

Blankson was honored by being named to the District 15 Second Team along with UCLA's Jordan Farmar, Arizona's Hassan Adams, San Diego's Brandon Gay and Brice Vounang. Blankson also earned second team honors for 2003-04.

Blankson, 6-7, is his second season at UNLV. He transferred from Marquette before the 2002-03 season. He leads UNLV this season in scoring with 17.9 points per game and is second in rebounding with 8.2 per game. He also leads the team in free throw percentage at 83.2 percent.

Blankson has recorded nine double-doubles in UNLV's 23 games this season and has scored in double figures in 22 of thos games including each of the last 13. Additionally, he has scored 20 or more points in a game 10 times this season.

The District 15 First Team consists of Arizona State's Ike Diogu, UCLA's Dijon Thompson, Arizona's Salim Stoudamire and Channing Frye and Peperdine's Glenn McGowan.

The NABC Division I All-District Teams recognize the country's best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes and are selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC. The 150 student-athletes, from 15 districts, are now eligible for the NABC Division I All-American team to be announced at the conclusion of the 2004-05 NCAA men's basketball season.