CARY, N.C. (March 11) – Senior women's basketball player Kristen Lucci has been named a finalist for the tenth annual V Foundation Comeback Award. The veteran Yellow Jacket hoopster was selected out of a national pool of men's and women's candidates from all divisions of college basketball.
Lucci was nominated for the award based on her recovery from a rare brain condition.
It all started during the 2007-08 school year as the Center Township native's sophomore season was getting off to a stellar start. She was a standout on the court, and also in the classroom, named to the Presidents' Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll, requiring a semester GPA of at least 3.60.
However, the starting point guard began to have constant headaches that affected her performance on and off the court, becoming more noticeably severe when she played the game.
In July of 2008, Lucci was diagnosed with Type 1 Arnold Chiari Malformation, a condition that caused her cerebellum to grow down into her spinal canal. On December 15, 2008 she underwent Chiari decompression surgery which involved having a piece of skull and C1 vertebrae removed.
She returned to school shortly after Christmas break, but endured a minor set-back in February that hospitalized her until March. Since then, Lucci has suffered no ill effects and made her triumphant return to the court for the 2009-10 season. She ended the year second on the team in assists per game (2.6) and averaged 3.4 points per game. She made 17 starts in the 24 games she appeared in, and averaged 20.6 minutes per contest.
The award is presented in memory of Jim Valvano, the late basketball coach and ESPN commentator, whose personal battle with cancer inspired the creation of The V Foundation. The 2010 recipient will be selected by a six-member sub-committee of The V Foundation Board of Directors. The award is presented in conjunction with ESPN and the recipient will be announced March 30 during ESPN's basketball coverage.
This year's finalists are: D'Andre Bell, Georgia Tech; Dallas Blocker, Youngstown State; Brianna Culberson, Denver; Kelvin Davis, San Diego State; Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska; Sanchez Hughley, Florida Atlantic; Thomas Kleinschnitz, Franciscan University of Steubenville; Dana Pernell Smith II, Longwood; and Lucci.
