Stanford's da Silva named Pac-12 Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO - STANFORD's Oscar da Silva was named the 2020-21 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced ahead of the Pac-12 Tournament. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
The two-time First Team All-Pac-12 performer also carries a 3.43 grade-point average as a biology major with an emphasis on biochemistry and biophysics. Da Silva is a published author of a research paper - A Clearing Technique to Enhance Endogenous Fluorophores in Skin and Soft Tissue - and has spent much of his time at Stanford working in its Stem Cell lab with Dr. Michael Longaker.
He is among the final 10 candidates for this year's Senior CLASS Award, which annually recognizes NCAA Division I senior student-athletes who excel in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition. Along with excelling in the classroom and competition, da Silva has participated in many volunteer activities including the adoption of child cancer survivors from Stanford Children's Health.
This season, da Silva ranks among the Conference's top scorers (18.8 ppg) and rebounders (6.8 rpg) while shooting a career-best 58 percent from the field. The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year top-10 candidate is currently 1-of-2 players in NCAA Division I with averages of at least 18 points on 55 percent shooting, six rebounds and two assists (Drew Timme, Gonzaga).
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletics accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in voting for the award.
A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 24 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling. The award was first established during the 2007-08 academic year.
ALSO NOMINATED: D'Shawn Schwartz, Colorado; Luke Osborn, Oregon; Ethan Thompson, Oregon State; Alfonso Plummer, Utah; Isaac Bonton, Washington State.