OSU's Marcus Smart A Semifinalist For Eddie Sutton Tustenugee Award

Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart is one of twelve semifinalists for the Eddie Sutton Tustenugee Award.

The award, in its third year, is presented by the Tulsa Sports Charities and honors former OSU basketball coach Eddie Sutton.

Semifinalists were selected by a national panel of media members who cover college basketball.

The winner will be introduced during the Tulsa Sports Charities Legends in Sports dinner at the Southern Hills Marriott in Tulsa a date to be announced.

In the language of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, one of the Five Civilized Tribes that settled in Oklahoma, "tustenugee" means "warrior."

The Sutton award is presented to the collegiate basketball player who best exhibits the traits of tenacity and unselfishness that Sutton advocated during his Hall of Fame career, said Tommy Thompson, director of Tulsa Sports Charities.

The award is sponsored by the John and Judy Marshall Foundation of Tulsa. John Marshall was roommates with Coach Sutton at OSU.

Previous Tustenugee Award recipients were Matt Howard of Butler University in 2011 and Quincy Acy of Baylor in 2012.

The 2013 nominees:

• Aaron Craft, Ohio State, 6-2, junior, guard, Findlay, Ohio.

• Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary's College, 6-4, senior, guard, Maryborough, Victoria, Australia.

• Melvin Ejim, Iowa State, 6-6, junior, forward, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

• Grant Gibbs, Creighton, 6-5, senior, guard, Marion, Iowa.

• Mike Hart, Gonzaga, 6-6, senior, guard, Portland, Ore.

• Pierce Hornung, Colorado State, 6-5, senior, forward, Arvada, Colo.

• Mike Muscala, Bucknell, 6-11, senior, center, Roseville, Minn.

• Victor Oladipo, Indiana, 6-5, junior, guard, Marlboro, Md.

• Kevin Parrom, Arizona, 6-6, senior, guard, Bronx, N.Y.

• E.J. Singler, Oregon, 6-6, senior, forward, Medford, Ore.

• Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State, 6-4, freshman, guard, Flower Mound, Texas.

• Scottie Wilbekin, Florida, 6-2, junior, guard, Gainesville, Fla.