THE LOU HENSON AWARD

2014 Lou Henson Award

April 4, 2014


HALL WINS THE 2014 LOU HENSON AWARD

DALLAS, TX -- Mercer's Langston Hall is the recipient of the 2014 Lou Henson award, presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I college basketball.

Hall led Mercer to a banner year that concluded with a 27-9 record in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.  Other postseason distinctions that have come Hall's way include Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, Atlantic Sun All-Conference first team honors and Atlantic Sun Tournament MVP.

Hall led Mercer with averages of 14.6 points, 5.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 2013-14.  The campaign saw him break the A-Sun conference record for career assists and score the 1,500th point of his career. The senior scored 20 or more in 11 games and registered 10 or more assists on four occasions.  His 201 total assists ranks 16th most nationally and is the second highest single-season total in program history.

Previous recipients of the award include  Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's 2013), Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk State 2012), Matt Howard (Butler 2011) and Keith Benson (Oakland 2010).

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.
 

2014 LOU HENSON ALL-AMERICA TEAM

Ike Azotam 6-7 Sr. Quinnipiac
Travis Bader 6-5 Sr. Oakland
George Beamon 6-4 Sr. Manhattan
Taylor Braun 6-7 Sr. North Dakota State
Alec Brown 7-1 Sr. Green Bay
David Brown 6-3 Sr. Western Michigan
Julius Brown 5-10 Jr. Toledo
Glenn Cosey 6-0 Sr. Eastern Kentucky
Torrey Craig 6-6 Sr. USC Upstate
Langston Hall 6-4 Sr. Mercer
Tyler Haws 6-5 Jr. BYU
Troy Huff 6-5 Sr. North Dakota
R.J. Hunter 6-5 So. Georgia State
Jeremy Ingram 6-3 Sr. North Carolina Central
Kareem Jamar 6-5 Sr. Montana
J.J. Mann 6-6 Sr. Belmont
Z. Mason 6-6 Sr. Chattanooga
Javon McCrea 6-7 Sr. Buffalo
Aaric Murray 6-0 Sr. Texas Southern
Jake Odum 6-4 Sr. Indiana State
Jacob Parker 6-6 Jr. Stephen F. Austin
Elfrid Payton 6-3 Jr. Louisiana Lafayette
Devon Saddler 6-2 Sr. Delaware
Wesley Saunders 6-5 Jr. Harvard
Justin Sears 6-8 So. Yale
Kiefer Sykes 5-11 Jr. Green Bay
Jameel Warney 6-8 So. Stony Brook
Jalan West 5-10 So. Northwestern State
Alan Williams 6-8 Jr. UC Santa Barbara
Pendarvis Williams 6-6 Sr. Norfolk State

NOTE: Ronnie Baker (Wichita State), Billy Baron (Canisius) and Cleanthony Early (Wichita State) were named to the Lute Olson All-America Team.
 

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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