Lou Henson Award

Lou Henson Award
Awarded for	Nation's top mid-major men's player in NCAA Division I basketball
Country	United States
Presented by	Collegeinsider.com
First awarded	2010
Currently held by	Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary's
Official website	Website

The Lou Henson Award is an award given annually by CollegeInsider.com to the most outstanding mid-major men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award, established in 2010, is named for legendary Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lou Henson. Henson, who also coached at Hardin-Simmons and New Mexico State, compiled 779 all-time wins. He is in the top 10 of NCAA coaching wins in men's basketball history.

Background

At the same time the Henson Award was established, CollegeInsider.com also created the Lou Henson All-America Team, consisting of the 30 players that its selection committee deems to be the top Division I mid-major players. Unlike most other All-America teams in basketball and other sports, the Henson All-America Team is not divided into different grades (e.g., first team, second team, third team, honorable mention)—all players are treated equally as All-Americans.

Starting with the 2011–12 season, the number of Henson All-Americans was reduced to 25. This coincided with the decision of CollegeInsider.com to establish a Lute Olson All-America Team in conjunction with its Lute Olson Award for the top player who has played at least two years at his current school. The Olson All-America Team also has 25 members; unlike the Olson or Henson Awards, the team is open to all players regardless of their year of attendance or conference affiliation. Players on the Olson All-America team, even if they come from mid-major schools, are not eligible for the Henson Award.

Definitions of the term "mid-major" in the context of college basketball vary widely. For purposes of both the Henson All-America Team and Henson Award, CollegeInsider.com has established its own definition of the term, which excludes players from the following conferences:

• The six conferences whose football champions automatically qualify for the Bowl Championship Series:
  • Atlantic Coast Conference
  • Big 12 Conference
  • Big East Conference
  • Big Ten Conference
  • Pacific-12 Conference
  • Southeastern Conference
• The following "non-AQ" football conferences:
  • Conference USA
  • Mountain West Conference
  • Western Athletic Conference
• One Division I non-football conference:
  • Atlantic 10 Conference

Winners

Oakland's Keith Benson (left) is the award's inaugural winner in 2010.

Player (X)

Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Lou Henson Award

Year	Player	School	Position	Class	Reference
2009–10	Benson, KeithKeith Benson	Oakland	Center	3 !Junior
2010–11	Howard, MattMatt Howard	Butler	Power forward	4 !Senior
2011–12	O'Quinn, KyleKyle O'Quinn	Norfolk State	Power forward	4 !Senior
2012–13	Dellavedova, MatthewMatthew Dellavedova	Saint Mary's	Shooting guard / Point guard	4 !Senior

Winners by school

School	Winners	Years
Butler	1	2011
Norfolk State	1	2012
Oakland	1	2010
Saint Mary's	1	2013

References

General

• "Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award". CollegeInsider.com. 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010. 

Specific

External links

• Official site