May 19, 2004

Freshman center Kieron Achara and senior forward Elijah Palmer were named winners of the Chuck Cooper and Sihugo Green men's basketball awards for the 2003-04 season. The Chuck Cooper Award is given annually to the team's top underclassman (Fr./Soph.), while the Sihugo Green award is presented to the top upperclassman (Jr./Sr.).

Elijah Palmer

Achara, who played in all 29 games, averaged 6.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He became a major factor for the Dukes late in the season with five of his seven double-digit games coming in DU's last eight outings. The Stirling, Scotland native averaged 9.3 ppg. and shot 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the field as DU went 3-1 in his four games as a starter. He shot 72.5 percent from the foul line and a team-best 61.7 percent from the field on the season.

Palmer, who led the Dukes in scoring (13.9 ppg.) and rebounding (5.9 rpg.) finished his career as the 8th most-accurate shooter in school history at 50.4 percent. He shot 53.9 percent from the field as a senior, including a 9-of-9 effort from the field vs. George Mason on Dec. 20. Palmer, who completed his undergraduate degree in May, topped the 20-point mark six times last season with a high game of 24 vs. Siena. He shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in 19 of 29 games and led the team with 34 dunks.

Past award winners

CHUCK COOPER AWARD
This award is presented in the name of Chuck Cooper, an All-American for the Dukes in 1950. The award is given to the top underclassman on the Duquesne team.

Cooper, who attended Pittsburgh's Westinghouse High School, played on a pair of NIT teams (1947 & 1950) while at Duquesne. In addition to leading the Dukes to a 78-19 record during his four-year career, Cooper captained a 1949-50 squad that finished with a 23-6 record and No. 6 national ranking. The '50 Dukes were the first Duquesne team to be ranked for an entire season by the Associated Press.

Cooper went on to become the first black player - and first Duquesne player - in the National Basketball Association when he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1950. Following a six-year NBA career, Cooper went on to have a very successful career in public service. Cooper died on February 5, 1984.

CHUCK COOPER AWARD WINNERS
1983 Emmett Sellers
1984 Rick Suder
1985 Collins Dobbs
1986 Brian Shanahan
1987 Tony Petrarca
1988 Clayton Adams
1989 Clayton Adams
1990 Tony Petrarca
1991 James Hargrove
1992 Derrick Alston
1993 Kenya Hunter
1994 Tom Pipkins
1995 Tom Pipkins
1996 Mike James
1997 Devone Stephenson
1998 Courtney Wallace
1999 Wayne Smith
2000 Wayne Smith
2001 Kevin Forney
2002 Jon Pawlak
2003 Bryant McAllister
2004 Kieron Achara

SIHUGO GREEN AWARD
Named in honor of Sihugo Green, the only two-time consensus All-American in Duquesne history (1955 & 1956), this award is presented annually to the top upperclassman on the Duquesne roster.

The 6-2, 185-pound Brooklyn, N.Y. native averaged 19.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game for the Dukes from 1954-56. During Green's three years on The Bluff, Duquesne posted a 65-17 record and made three consecutive NIT appearances. The '55 Dukes won the NIT title which stands as the only national title ever won by a Duquesne University sports team.

Green went on to have a nine-year NBA career, capped by a World Championship with the 1966 Boston Celtics. Green died on October 4, 1980.

SIHUGO GREEN AWARD WINNERS
1981 John Moore
1982 Bruce Atkins
1983 Joey Myers
1984 Andy Sisinni
1985 Pat Farrell
1986 Rick Suder
1987 Emmett Sellers
1988 Collins Dobbs
1989 Collins Dobbs, Brian Shanahan
1990 Mark Stevenson
1991 Clayton Adams, Tony Petrarca
1992 James Hargrove
1993 Derrick Alston
1994 Effrem Whitehead
1995 Kenya Hunter
1996 Kenya Hunter
1997 Tom Pipkins
1998 Mike James
1999 Courtney Wallace
2000 Courtney Wallace
2001 Wayne Smith
2002 Kevin Forney
2003 Kevin Forney
2004 Elijah Palmer