Gordon earned that stripe for his MVP performance in the FIBA U19 World Championship, where he averaged a team-high 12.6 points and 6.2 rebounds coming off the bench, and for his participation in the Nike Hoop Summit.

“Aaron is a great player, and the thing I really give him and the rest of the players credit for is that every single one of those guys is a high-profile player and they all knew going in that there was going to be some form of sacrifice that was going to have to take place for us to win,” said Florida coach Billy Donovan, who also coached the U19 team this past year. “No one was going to score 25 points, no one was going to play 35 minutes, it had to be a collective group effort and their buy-in ability toward that was tremendous.”

The award was established in 1980 to recognize the USA Basketball athlete who made a significant impact on helping his team succeed. The USA Basketball Board of Directors names the honoree.

Gordon joins quite the list of basketball stars in earning this honor. LeBron James, who lead Team USA to a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics, won last year’s award.


MORE COLORADO PAIN


As if losing do-everything point guard Spencer Dinwiddie to a torn ACL wasn’t enough, No. 21 Colorado announced on Tuesday that freshman reserve wing Tre’Shaun Fletcher will be out 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery on his left knee.

Fletcher, who has averaged 3.5 points per game in 10.2 minutes of action, was also injured in the first half Sunday’s loss to Washington. He returned to play in the second half, but then came Tuesday’s diagnosis.

Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle, whose team beat Kansas on a buzzer-beater in December, knows the task he’s now faced with is exceptionally daunting. Colorado’s next game is Thursday at home vs. No. 25 UCLA.

“Absolutely ... it makes my job harder, no question about that,” Boyle said. “(But) it’s part of athletics, I don’t care what sport you play ... everybody goes through it. We are right now; we’re down two guys, two athletic, long good basketball players. So yeah, we’re all challenged. Our players are challenged, our coaches are challenged. And guess what, our fans are going to be challenged, too.



“Thursday night is going to be a great environment in here; we’re going to need their energy and these guys on the floor are going to need to know that they believe in them — which I know they do. There’s been a lot of well-wishes for our program and for Spencer, but that all goes away when that thing’s tipped up on Thursday night. It’s game on and we’ve got to be ready to fight and scratch and claw and do whatever we’ve got to do to get a win.”


FARMER SENTENCED


Richie Farmer left his rural upbringing to pursue basketball fame with the University of Kentucky and two terms as the state's agriculture commissioner, but it was a sense of entitlement that brought down his political career.

Farmer was sentenced to more than two years in prison for abusing his public office, hiring friends and having them do little to no work and using state employees to build a basketball court at his home, prosecutors said.

Farmer will head to federal prison March 18 to being serving 27 months behind bars. U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove recommended that Farmer, 44, be allowed to serve his time at the minimum-security facility near his home in Manchester, the seat of Clay County in southern Kentucky where he grew up.

If the Bureau of Prisons allows the assignment, Farmer would be near his family, including three sons who are in or nearing their teenage years.

"It's pretty easy to be a hero to your kids when your jersey hangs in Rupp Arena," Van Tatenhove said. "Your chance to be a dad and a good dad to your kids is exponential because now you get to tell them what to do when you fail."

Farmer pleaded guilty in September to two counts of misappropriating government resources. He was also ordered to pay $120,500 in restitution.

Farmer was a shooting guard for the 1991-1992 team known as "The Unforgettables" for their gutsy play and for turning the Wildcats around after a couple of years on probation.

Contributors: Roger Kuznia and The Associated Press