Murphy named finalist for prestigious Lou Henson Award
February 17, 2012

Murphy named finalist for prestigious Lou Henson Award

Tennessee Tech senior guard Kevin Murphy is a finalist for the Lou Henson Player of the Year Award, and Golden Eagle fans are being called upon to support Murphy in online voting.

Click here to vote for Murphy

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech senior guard Kevin Murphy is a finalist for the Lou Henson Player of the Year Award, and Golden Eagle fans are being called upon to support Murphy in online voting.

The Lou Henson Award is given annually by CollegeInsider.com to the most outstanding mid major men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I. The award, established in 2010, is named for legendary Illinois head coach Lou Henson. Henson compiled 779 career wins and is in the top 10 in career wins in NCAA basketball history.

Fan voting, conducted by Point 3 Basketball, counts for one-third of the outcome of the selection. The other two-thirds is determined by the CollegeInsider.com selection committee.

Murphy leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring and ranks 11th in NCAA Division I, averaging 20.4 points per game. He grabbed the nation's attention when he poured in 50 points in a win over SIU Edwardsville on Jan. 30. He has scored 20-plus points 14 times this season and has dropped in 30-plus on four occasions.

Murphy currently ranks second on Tech's all-time scoring list with 1,910 career points and is likely to become the Golden Eagles' all-time leader in games played in Tech's first game at the OVC Tournament.

Other nominees for the award are:
Julian Boyd (Long Island)
Isaiah Canaan (Murray State)
Torrey Craig (USC Upstate)
Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's)
LaRon Dendy (Middle Tennessee)
Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart)
Michael Glover (Iona)
Reggie Hamilton (Oakland)
Orlando Johnson (UC Santa Barbara)
Jarrod Jones (Ball State)
Damian Lillard (Weber State)
Scott Machado (Iona)
C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)
Doug McDermott (Creighton)
Tony Mitchell (North Texas)
Dominique Morrison (Oral Roberts)
Mike Buscala (Bucknell)
Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk State)
Lamarcus Reed (Texas-Arlington)
Zack Rosen (Penn)
Gerardo Suero (Albany)
Casper Ware (Long Beach State)
Kyle Weems (Missouri State)
Nate Wolters (South Dakota State).

Voting began today and runs through March 12. The winner will be announced on March 30 at the Final Four in New Orleans.