University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Crowley Named Lou Henson National Player of Year Finalist
3/9/2023 1:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOSTON, MA -- Southern Miss junior guard Austin Crowley was named a finalist for the 2022-23 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award on Thursday. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I college basketball and honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
Crowley was named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year after finishing the regular season as Southern Miss' leading scorer and was tabbed an All-Sun Belt First Teamer. The Ole Miss transfer is averaging 16.1Â points per game and has a team-leading 62Â steals. He is nine steals shy of tying the single season record set by Cortez Edwards. The West Point product scored 20-plus points 10 times and finished in double figures in 24 games this season. He scored a career-high 30 points in a win over App State on Dec. 31.Â
Crowley scored 25 points at Liberty to help Southern Miss to one of its biggest road wins in the last 10 seasons. He also poured in 25 points in a home win against rival South Alabama in mid-January. The versatile guard had a career-high six steals against Winthrop to help the Golden Eagles to the Cancun Challenge title in Cancun, Mexico. Crowley is the first Golden Eagle to win a conference newcomer of the year award since Dwayne Davis was named Conference USA Newcomer of the Year in 2013.Â
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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.
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Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC, West Coast.
 Crowley was named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year after finishing the regular season as Southern Miss' leading scorer and was tabbed an All-Sun Belt First Teamer. The Ole Miss transfer is averaging 16.1 points per game and has a team-leading 62 steals. He is nine steals shy of tying the single season record set by Cortez Edwards. The West Point product scored 20-plus points 10 times and finished in double figures in 24 games this season. He scored a career-high 30 points in a win over App State on Dec. 31.Â
Crowley scored 25 points at Liberty to help Southern Miss to one of its biggest road wins in the last 10 seasons. He also poured in 25 points in a home win against rival South Alabama in mid-January. The versatile guard had a career-high six steals against Winthrop to help the Golden Eagles to the Cancun Challenge title in Cancun, Mexico. Crowley is the first Golden Eagle to win a conference newcomer of the year award since Dwayne Davis was named Conference USA Newcomer of the Year in 2013.Â
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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.
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Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, 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 award will be announced in March, in Houston site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
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2022-23 LOU HENSON AWARD FINALISTS
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| Max Abmas | 6-0 | Oral Roberts |
| Dalton Bolon | 6-4 | Charleston |
| Mike Bothwell | 6-3 | Furman |
| Jordan Brown | 6-11 | Louisiana |
| Joe Bryant Jr. | 6-1 | Norfolk State |
| Sincere Carry | 6-1 | Kent State |
| Walter Clayton Jr. | 6-2 | Iona |
| Austin Crowley | 6-5 | Southern Miss |
| Antoine Davis | 6-1 | Detroit |
| RayJ Dennis | 6-2 | Toledo |
| Tucker DeVries | 6-7 | Drake |
| Jordan Dingle | 6-3 | Penn |
| Aaron Estrada | 6-4 | Hofstra |
| Logan Johnson | 6-2 | Saint Mary's |
| Tevian Jones | 6-7 | Southern Utah |
| Taevion Kinsey | 6-5 | Marshall |
| Ryan Larson | 6-1 | Charleston |
| Darius McGhee | 5-9 | Liberty |
| Ajay Mitchell | 6-4 | UCSB |
| Drew Pember | 6-11 | UNC Asheville |
| Dylan Penn | 6-3 | Vermont |
| Brandin Podziemski | 6-5 | Santa Clara |
| Tucker Richardson | 6-5 | Colgate |
| Cam Shelton | 6-2 | Loyola Marymount |
| DeMarcus Sharp | 6-3 | Northwestern State |
| Ben Sheppard | 6-6 | Belmont |
| JT Shumate | 6-7 | Toledo |
| Jalen Slawson | 6-7 | Furman |
| Marques Warrick | 6-2 | Northern Kentucky |
| Chris Youngblood | 6-4 | Kennesaw State |
Players Mentioned
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