|
Jan.
27, 2010
CollegeInsider.com establishes the Lou Henson
National Player of the Year Award
 BOSTON
(MA) -- CollegeInsider.com will honor former
Illinois and New Mexico State head coach Lou Henson
with the creation of the Lou Henson National Player
of the Year Award. The award will be presented
annually to the top mid-major player in division I
college basketball.
“Coach Henson is one of the finest people you could
ever hope to meet,” says Joe Dwyer, co-founder of
CollegeInsider.com. “His accomplishments as a coach
should have gotten him enshrined in the Naismith
Basketball Hall of Fame a long time ago, but he is
certainly a hall of famer as a person.”
The 78-year old Henson coached for 41 years. When he
retired in 2005 he was the sixth all-time in career
Division I wins with 779.
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.
“I am happy to receive the prestigious honor of
having this award in my name,” says Henson.
“Furthermore I am very pleased to have my name
associated with CollegeInsider.com. This is a great
honor.”
Following his graduation, Henson immediately landed
a coaching position at Las Cruces High School. After
two years as the junior varsity coach, he became the
head coach. He posted a record of 145-23 and won
state championship in 1959, 1960 and 1961.
At the age of 30, Henson moved into the collegiate
ranks as head coach at Hardin-Simmons University in
1962. In four years, he compiled a record of 67-36
with a pair of 20-win seasons, each of which
represented the school record for victories in a
season.
Henson then returned to his alma mater, New Mexico
State, in 1966 and became the head coach of the
Aggies for the next nine seasons. During that time,
Henson led the Aggies to six NCAA appearances,
including five straight from 1966-71. The 1969-70
season was a special year for Henson and the Aggies
as NMSU made their first and only Final Four
appearance, tallying a 27-3 overall record in the
process.
After retiring from Illinois, Henson returned to New
Mexico State as he was named the Aggies' interim
head coach on October 17, 1997, just two days before
the start of preseason practice. In a rare move,
Henson originally agreed to coach the team on a pro
bono basis, and later settled on a salary of $1 a
month during the 1997-98 season. After leading the
Aggies to an 18-12 record, Henson had the interim
lifted from his title as he accepted a four-year
contract.
Henson is a member of the New Mexico State, Illinois
and Hardin-Simmons Halls of Fame. In 2002, New
Mexico State honored Henson by naming the Pan
American Center’s parquet floor, ‘Lou Henson Court’.
“Coach Henson’s achievements rank among the all time
greatest coaches,” says La Salle head coach John
Giannini who began his coaching career as a graduate
assistant under Henson at Illinois. “For many people
who have played and coached with him, he is known as
a family man and mentor. He embodies the dedication
to excellence and personal character that defines
what is best about college basketball. Any award
bearing his name is a great honor.”
Giannini is one of the 21 members of the voting
panel, which will determine the Lou Henson Award
recipient. Others on the panel include former
players and coaches like Stephen Bardo (ESPN), Jimmy
Collins (Illinois-Chicago), Rob Evans (Arizona
State), Steve Fisher (San Diego State), Marvin
Menzies (New Mexico State) and Scott Nagy (South
Dakota State).
Player s eligible for the award will consist of
teams from the following conferences: America East,
Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West,
Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy,
Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri
Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern,
Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West
Coast.
The 2010 Lou Henson National Player of the Year
Award will be presented on April 2 at the Final Four
in Indianapolis, IN.
LOU
HENSON
AWARD SELECTION COMMITTEE
|
Stephen Bardo |
ESPN |
|
Dr. McKinley Boston |
New Mexico State University |
|
Jimmy Collins |
University of Illinois-Chicago |
|
Mark Coomes |
Retired Head Coach |
|
Gene Cross |
University of Toledo |
|
Chris Crutchfield |
Oral Roberts University |
|
Tom Douple |
Summit League |
|
Joe Dwyer |
CollegeInsider.com |
|
Rob Evans |
University of Arkansas |
|
Steve Fisher |
San Diego State University |
|
John Giannini |
La Salle University |
|
Ed Groom |
Great West Conference |
|
Ted Gumbart |
Atlantic Sun Conference |
|
Lou Henson |
Retired |
|
Kyle B. Kallander |
Big South Conference |
|
Jon Kasper |
Big Sky Conference |
|
Angela Lento |
CollegeInsider.com |
|
Marvin Menzies |
New Mexico State University |
|
Scott Nagy |
South Dakota State University |
|
Frank Sullivan |
America East Conference |
|
Riley Wallace |
CollegeInsider.com |
|