THE LOU HENSON AWARD

KYLE O'QUINN WINS THE 2012 LOU HENSON AWARD


March 28, 2012

BOSTON, MA -- Norfolk State's Kyle O'Quinn is the recipient of the 2012 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award.

The MEAC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Performer, O'Quinn averaged 15.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game while leading the Spartans to a 26-10 record, the program's first-ever MEAC title and a second-round NCAA Tournament win over No. 2 seed Missouri.

"Kyle had an outstanding season even before Norfolk State beat Missouri," said Angela Lento, co-founder of CollegeInsider.com. "His performance in the NCAA tournament was just a sampling of the type of season he had. It wasn't a validation, but rather a showcase of his season."

A second-team All-MEAC selection as a sophomore, O'Quinn was a first team selection last season and was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Year.

The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the top Mid-Major player in Division I college basketball. The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who retired after a spectacular coaching career that lasted 41 years. When he left the game in 2005 he was sixth all-time in career Division I wins with 779. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State. He is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four.

The award was announced at halftime of the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason championship game (CIT) and presented at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet in New Orleans, site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

 2012 LOU HENSON ALL-AMERICA TEAM 

O.D. Anosike 6-8 Jr. Siena
Kent Bazemore 6-5 Sr. Old Dominion
Julian Boyd 6-7 Jr. LIU-Brooklyn
Will Cherry 6-1 Jr. Montana
Torrey Craig 6-6 So. USC Upstate
Matthew Dellavedova 6-4 Jr. Saint Mary's
Laron Dendy 6-9 Sr. Middle Tennessee
Shane Gibson 6-2 Jr. Sacred Heart
Reggie Hamilton 5-11 Sr. Oakland
Frantz Massenat 6-4 So. Drexel
Ray McCallum 6-2 So. Detroit
Tony Mitchell 6-8 Fr. North Texas
Dominique Morrison 6-6 Sr. Oral Roberts
Kevin Murphy 6-6 Sr. Tennessee Tech
Mike Muscala 6-11 Jr. Bucknell
Charles Odum 6-0 Sr. Portland State
Kyle O'Quinn 6-10 Sr. Norfolk State
Ryan Pearson 6-6 Sr. George Mason
Joe Ragland 6-0 Sr. Wichita State
Lamarcus Reed III 6-5 Sr. UT-Arlington
Zack Rosen 6-1 Sr. Pennsylvania
Colt Ryan 6-5 Jr. Evansville
Gerardo Suero 6-4 Jr. Albany
Casper Ware 5-10 Sr. Long Beach State
Nate Wolters 6-4 Jr. South Dakota 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, Coastal Athletic, CUSA, Horizon, Independents, 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 2023-24 award will be announced in April, in Phoenix, AZ site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

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.

The 10-member voting committee consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
 
The award is presented annually at the site of the men's Division I NCAA basketball championship. 
 
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.
 
 

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