THE LOU HENSON AWARD

The recipient of the 2023 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award will be announced in Houston, site of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

March 9, 2022

THE AWARD FINALISTS

BOSTON, MA -- The finalists for the 2022-23 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award were announced on Thursday.

The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I college basketball and honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.

Henson is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989.

Henson, who is also the all-time winningest coach in New Mexico State history with 289 victories, is one of only 11 coaches to take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four. His teams have made 19 NCAA appearances and four NIT appearances.

Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC, West Coast.

The recipient of the 2023 award will be announced in March, in Houston site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
 

2022-23 LOU HENSON AWARD FINALISTS

Max Abmas

6-0

Oral Roberts

Dalton Bolon

6-4

Charleston

Mike Bothwell

6-3

Furman

Jordan Brown

6-11

Louisiana

Joe Bryant Jr.

6-1

Norfolk State

Sincere Carry

6-1

Kent State

Walter Clayton Jr.

6-2

Iona

Austin Crowley

6-5

Southern Miss

Antoine Davis

6-1

Detroit

RayJ Dennis

6-2

Toledo

Tucker DeVries

6-7

Drake

Jordan Dingle

6-3

Penn

Aaron Estrada

6-4

Hofstra

Logan Johnson

6-2

Saint Mary’s

Tevian Jones

6-7

Southern Utah

Taevion Kinsey         

6-5

Marshall

Ryan Larson

6-1

Charleston

Darius McGhee

5-9

Liberty

Ajay Mitchell

6-4

UCSB

Drew Pember

6-11

UNC Asheville

Dylan Penn

6-3

Vermont

Brandin Podziemski

6-5

Santa Clara

Tucker Richardson

6-5

Colgate

Cam Shelton

6-2

Loyola Marymount

DeMarcus Sharp

6-3

Northwestern State

Ben Sheppard

6-6

Belmont

JT Shumate

6-7

Toledo

Jalen Slawson

6-7

Furman

Marques Warrick

6-2

Northern Kentucky

Chris Youngblood

6-4

Kennesaw State

 

The Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I college basketball, honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
 
Henson is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989.
 
Henson, who is also the all-time winningest coach in New Mexico State history with 289 victories, is one of only 11 coaches to take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four. His teams have made 19 NCAA appearances and four NIT appearances.
 
Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC, West Coast.
 
The recipient of the 2023 award will be announced in March, in Houston site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
 

The Lou Henson award committee is a 30 member panel, consisting of five current division I head coaches, five retired head coaches, 10 current athletic directors and/or conference administrators, five members of the national media and five collegeinsider.com staff members. 
 
RULES AND CRITERIA
 
The Lou Henson award is presented annually to the top division I mid-major player as voted on by the award committee. Eligible players must in the following conferences or leagues: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic.
 
NOTE: The basis for mid-major designation is based on the criteria established by the Mid-Major Top 25 ® which was created by CollegeInsider.com and is a registered trademark.
 
SCHEDULE OF RELEASES
 
November: Preseason Watch List announced
January: Mid-Season Watch List announced
March: Finalist announced
April 2:: Lou Henson National Player of the Year announced
 
AWARD PRESENTATION
 
The recipients of the 17 national awards, presented by CollegeInsider.com, are announced annually at the site of the NCAA men’s division I basketball championship.
 
The recipient of the 2018 Lou Henson award will be announced on April 2 in San Antonio, site of the Men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
 
 

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