sign in sign up
<<
Home , Adam Emmenecker, Adam Koch, Alden Pasche, Alize Johnson, Anthony Manuel, Ashraf Amaya

Men’s 1818 Chouteau Ave. • St. Louis, MO 63103 • (314) 444-4300 February 27, 2018 • Contact: Mike Kern

Clayton Custer of Loyola Earns 2018 MVC Player of the Year Honor ST. LOUIS -- The 2018 MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year is junior of Loyola. Custer has engineered the Ram- blers to one of the most historic seasons in school history, which includes a 25-5 overall mark and 15-3 MVC record. Loyola be- came just the 11th MVC school since World War II to win the league title with a four-game advantage over the second-place team, and the Ramblers have earned their most wins since the 1984-85 squad reached the Sweet 16 and went 27-6. Custer received 125 total points to outdistance Alize Johnson of Missouri State (55 points) and Drake's Reed Timmer (52 points). Four different student-athletes received first-place tallies, including Custer, Johnson, Timmer, and Milik Yarbrough of State. Voting was conducted by coaches, sports information directors and a media panel (voters could not vote for their own student- athlete.) Including this year, 0 freshmen, 2 sophomores, 17 juniors (seven of whom repeated) and 31 seniors have won 2018 MVC Larry Bird Trophy Voting the award (spanning 1969-2018). Student-Athlete, School 1st 2nd 3rd ALL The junior guard from Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest High leads the Ramblers in a host of categories, Clayton Custer, Loyola 40 2 1 125 Alize Johnson, Missouri State 2 18 13 55 including scoring (14.2 ppg), three- percentage (.462), Reed Timmer, Drake 3 16 11 52 assists (106) and steals (42). He ranks among the league's Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State 2 7 11 31 Top 10 in those four categories as well as percent- Ryan Taylor, Evansville -- 3 5 11 age (.544), percentage (.806) and three-point field Student-athletes received three points for a first-place vote, goals made per game (1.9). After missing five games due to two points for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place an ankle injury, Custer returned to action at UNI on Jan. 7 and vote. Panelists could not vote for the student-athletes on their the team has lost just once since. Notably, Loyola has gone team (or for media, the team they cover). 23-2 when Custer has played this season, compared to A total of 47 voters served on the 2018 panel, including four 2-3 when he was sidelined. The regular-season title is the first voters from each school and an MVC network panel, consisting of seven additional voters. Only the top-five vote getters are listed, for Loyola as an MVC member (joined the Conference for the so the totals may not add up to 47, and the maximum number of 2013-14 season), and Custer is the first Rambler to earn the total votes received is 43. league's top player honor. Custer and Ben Richardson were high school teammates at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park and helped the program to back-to-back state titles and a remarkable 94-6 record during their four-year careers. They have competed on the same team since the third grade. Richardson joins Custer as a top award winner, too, as he is the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Richardson also missed significant playing time this year (10 games with a broken hand). A top perimeter defender, Richardson typically garners the toughest assignment on defense for the Ramblers. For the season, Richardson recorded 22 steals and eight blocked shots while helping the Ramblers to the best scoring defense in MVC games (61.6 allowed). Loyola also ranked among the MVC Top 5 in field goal percent- age defense and in three-point percentage defense. He's the first Loyola player to earn MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors. The league began selecting a Defensive Player of the Year in 1989, and this marks Loyola's fifth year in the Conference. The league's Freshman of the Year is another Rambler -- . A native of Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs High, he becomes the second Rambler to earn the league's top rookie honor ( in 2014). The MVC began selecting a Freshman of the Year award in 1986. Krutwig has scored in double digits in 12 of the last 13 outings and is the first Loyola freshman to score in double figures in 10 straight games since Doyle (11 games) in 2013-14. He leads the MVC in field goal percentage (.603) and is sixth in rebounding average (6.3). For the season he is averaging 10.8 points and has added 56 assists. Illinois State's Milik Yarbrough is the MVC Newcomer of the Year. The native of Zion (Ill.) Zion-Benton Township High is a transfer from . He is averaging 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, and is the only active player in the country to average such numbers. If he continues those stats through the end of the season, he will be the 11th such player since 1992-93 to average those numbers or better. He earned the league's Newcomer of the Week award five times this season, more than any other player. The MVC began its Newcomer of the Year program in 1969, and he joins Reggie Wilson (1991), (1999), Lorenzo Gordon (2005), Chamberlain Oguchi (2009) and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (2015) as ISU players to earn the honor. The MVC also selects a “Sixth Man Award” recipient, and this season’s honor goes to Southern Illinois' Tyler Smithpeters. The honor is presented to the league's top reserve player (one who has started fewer than 25 percent of his team's games). Smith- peters, a senior guard from Harrisburg (Ill.) High, is the fourth SIU player (Joshua Cross, 2000; LaMar Owen, 2004; Tony Young, 2005) to earn the award, first chosen in 1997. While making just five starts in 31 SIU games, Smithpeters contributed 7.5 points per game and was second for SIU with 72 assists. He's hit a team best 45 three-point field goals. In addition to the specialty awards, the conference announced its all-conference units (first-team, second-team, and third-team), all-newcomer team, all-freshman team, and all-defense team. The all-bench and most-improved units have been selected by the league’s beat writers and will be announced Wednesday (February 28). A complete listing of all-conference honorees and previous season specialty award winners is attached. MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE 2017-18 Men’s Basketball

2018 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Team LARRY BIRD MVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR First Team Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown Clayton Custer, Loyola Clayton Custer, Loyola Jr. G 6-1 Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest Alize Johnson, Missouri St. Sr. F 6-9 Williamsport (Pa.) St. John Neumann NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Ryan Taylor, Evansville Jr. G 6-6 Gary (Ind.) St. John's Northwestern Military Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State Reed Timmer, Drake Sr. G 6-1 New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower Milik Yarbrough, Illinois St. Jr. F 6-6 Zion (Ill.) Zion-Benton Township FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Second Team Jordan Barnes, Indiana St. So. G 5-11 St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers DEFENSIVE MVP Phil Fayne, Illinois State Jr. F 6-9 Elk Grove (Calif.) Franklin Ben Richardson, Loyola Armon Fletcher, S. Illinois Jr. G 6-5 Edwardsville (Ill.) Edwardsville , Loyola G/F Sr. 6-6 (Ill.) Simeon SIXTH-MAN OF THE YEAR Donte Thomas, Bradley Sr. F 6-7 Calumet City (Ill.) Thornwood Tyler Smithpeters, S. Illinois Third Team Darrell Brown, Bradley So. G 5-10 Memphis (Tenn.) Germantown ENTERPRISE BANK AND TRUST Bennett Koch, UNI Sr. F 6-10 Ashwaubenon (Wis.) Ashwaubenon MVC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Fr. C 6-9 Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs OF THE YEAR Kavion Pippen, S. Illinois Jr. C 6-10 Hamburg (Ark.) Hamburg Three Rivers CC TBA (March 1) Brenton Scott, Indiana St. Sr. G 6-1 Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrop MOST IMPROVED All-Newcomer Team TEAM CAPTAIN TBA (Feb. 28) Bakari Evelyn, Valparaiso So. G 6-2 Detroit (Mich.) Hillcrest (Ariz.) Academy Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Fr. C 6-9 Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs Tywhon Pickford, UNI Fr. G 6-4 Minneapolis (Minn.) Maple Grove MVC TOURNAMENT MOP Kavion Pippen, S. Illinois Jr. C 6-10 Hamburg (Ark.) Hamburg Three Rivers CC TBD (March 4) Milik Yarbrough, Illinois St. Jr. F 6-6 Zion (Ill.) Zion-Benton Township MVC COACH OF THE YEAR All-Freshman Team TBA (March 1) Elijah Childs, Bradley F 6-7 Kansas City (Mo.) Lee's Summit West Tyreke Key, Indiana State G 6-2 Celina (Tenn.) Clay County Scholar-Athlete (1st Tm.) Cameron Krutwig, Loyola C 6-9 Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs TBA (March 1) Tywhon Pickford, UNI G 6-4 Minneapolis (Minn.) Maple Grove Lucas Williamson, Loyola G 6-4 Chicago (Ill.) Whitney Young Scholar-Athlete (2nd Tm.) TBA (March 1) All-Defensive Team All-Tournament Obediah Church, Missouri St. Jr. F 6-7 Springfield (Ill.) Springfield Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, BU Jr. G 6-4 London (England) Bristol Academy TBD (March 4) Sean Lloyd, Southern Illinois Jr. G 6-5 (Pa.) Mt. Zion (Md.) Prep Ben Richardson, Loyola Sr. G 6-3 Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso Sr. G 6-2 Montreal (Quebec) Vanier College

All-Bench Team (selected by beat writers) TBA -- Wednesday, Feb. 28

Most-Improved Team (selected by beat writers) *TBA -- Wednesday, Feb. 28

*denotes team "captain" as designated by the league's beat writers Larry Bird Trophy Winners (2006-present)

The MVC renamed its Player of the Year award in men’s basketball as the Larry Bird Trophy in 2006. Wichita State’s became the first recipient of the Larry Bird Trophy that year. A full listing of MVC Men’s Basket- ball Players of the Year, first selected in 1969, is on Page 243 of the MVC Media Guide.

VALLEY’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD PAUL MILLER WICHITA STATE NAMED FOR ISU GREAT LARRY BIRD 2006 Miller helped Wichita State win its first regular- season title in 23 years to become the first Men’s and women’s basketball Player of the Year Shocker since 1985 to earn Valley Player of the awards are linked to two well-known names synony- Year plaudits (Xavier McDaniel). Miller averaged mous with and The Valley. The Val- 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Shockers -- both among the Top 10 in the league. ley’s men’s basketball Player of the Year is named for men’s basketball great Larry Bird, while the female Player of the year accolade honors former Missouri State 2007 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS star Jackie Stiles. After helping the Salukis to their highest ever The pride of French Lick, Ind., Bird was the national national ranking and a regular-season title Tatum earned the Larry Bird Trophy, in what is believed college Player of the Year in 1979 while leading the to be the closest vote in league history as a total Sycamores to a 33-1 record and the championship of five points separated the top three vote getters. game of the NCAA Tournament. A two-time consensus first-team All-American and twice MVC Player of the Year, he finished his career with 2,850 points and 1,247 2008 DRAKE rebounds. He went on to earn three NBA Most Valuable Perhaps the most improbable MVC Larry Bird Player awards and lead the to three NBA Trophy recipient in league history, Emmenecker titles. In 1996, he was tabbed one of the 50 Greatest entered the season with 64 career assists and 57 total points in his three previous seasons, but set Players in NBA History. a Drake single-season record with 213 assists. Bird, a charter member of the MVC Hall of Fame, The Bulldogs went 28-5 and swept the regular- season and tourney titles. graduated from ISU in 1979 as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history, and he currently ranks No. 3 on The Valley CREIGHTON scoring charts. He’s also No. 4 in career rebounds in The 2009 Woodfox helped Creighton to its first regular-sea- Valley, joining as the only two players in son crown since 2002 and led the league in three- league history to rank in the top five on both lists. point accuracy (47.6) and three-pointers made (91). His 15.8 scoring average led Creighton and The Larry Bird Trophy is given annually to the MVC’s ranks second in The Valley. top performing basketball male student-athlete. The recipient is selected by a voting panel consisting of me- dia, coaches and sports information directors from each UNI institution. 2010 Koch led the Panthers to their first outright The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, Jackie Stiles is regular-season crown in The Valley. He became one of the most decorated women’s basketball student- the first player in league history to earn the Larry Bird Trophy after not finishing in the Top 10 in the athletes in Missouri Valley Conference history. Stiles was MVC of any of the following statistical categories -- named to the 2001 Kodak All-America First Team, the scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, or blocks. All-America First Team and was named Women’s Basketball News Service Player of the Year. A MISSOURI STATE four-time Missouri Valley Conference first team selection, 2011 Missouri State won its first regular-season MVC Stiles earned MVC Player of the Year honors as a sopho- title behind Weems, who was the only player in the more, junior and senior. Stiles, who ended her collegiate league to rank in the Top 5 in the conference in all career with 3,393 points, broke the women’s NCAA all- of the following statistical categories -- scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals and free time scoring record while helping lead Missouri State to throw percentage. the 2001 NCAA Final Four. DOUG McDERMOTT 2012 CREIGHTON McDermott became the first sophomore in league history to earn the Larry Bird Trophy. He led the MVC with 22.9 points per game, and he ranked second in the conference in both rebounding (8.2 rpg) and three-point percentage (48.6). The only sophomores in league history with more points in a season are Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird. Larry Bird Trophy Winners (2006-present)

DOUG McDERMOTT 2013 CREIGHTON 2018 MVC Larry Bird Trophy Voting McDermott became the first MVC player since Larry Bird (1977-79) with consecutive 800-point Student-Athlete, School 1st 2nd 3rd ALL seasons, and he led the nation with 834 total Clayton Custer, Loyola 40 2 1 125 points in 2012-13. He became the first player Alize Johnson, Missouri State 2 18 13 55 in eight years to earn the league’s top individual Reed Timmer, Drake 3 16 11 52 award (SIU’s , 2004 & 2005). Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State 2 7 11 31 Ryan Taylor, Evansville -- 3 5 11 FRED VANVLEET Student-athletes received three points for a first-place vote, WICHITA STATE 2014 two points for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place VanVleet led the Shockers to a perfect 31-0 vote. Panelists could not vote for the student-athletes on their regular season and after a 3-0 MVC Tournament, team (or for media, the team they cover). WSU became in history to enter A total of 47 voters served on the 2018 panel, including four the NCAA Tournament 34-0. VanVleet ended the voters from each school and an MVC network panel, consisting of year with a league-leading 193 assists and a 4.02 seven additional voters. Only the top-five vote getters are listed, :turnover ratio, which was No. 4 nationally. so the totals may not add up to 47, and the maximum number of total votes received is 43. 2015 UNI Tuttle became just the 10th player in MVC his- tory to reach 1,700 career points and 900 career rebounds, as he finished with 1,747 points and 917 caroms. He was one of three MVC players to earn All-America honors in 2014-15 and led UNI in scoring, rebounding, blocks and assists.

FRED VANVLEET 2016 WICHITA STATE VanVleet, one of only three players in MVC history to reach 600 career assists and 200 career steals, is also one of just nine players in league history to win the Larry Bird Trophy twice. VanVleet also won the league’s top individual honor in 2014 and finished third in the 2015 balloting.

PARIS LEE 2017 ILLINOIS STATE The all-time steals leader in Illinois State history, Lee became the first Redbird to earn the league’s top individual player honor in 16 seasons. In ad- dition to averaging 13.0 points per game, Lee led the league in steals (1.9), assists (5.0) and three- point baskets (81).

CLAYTON CUSTER 2018 LOYOLA The junior led the Ramblers in scoring, assists, steals and three-point field goal percentage while leading his team to a 25-5 regular-season record. He ranked among the Top 10 in the MVC in scor- ing, field goal percentage, assists, steals, free throw percentage, three-point field goal percent- age and three-pointers made. Missouri Valley Conference Award Winners

Coach of the Year Multiple Award Winners 1949 Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma State 1950 Forrest “Forddy” Anderson, BU Coach of the Year 1951 Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma A&M 1952 Edgar S. “Eddie” Hickey, SLU 4 - , Drake 1953 Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma A&M 3 - Henry P. Iba, Okla. A&M 1954 , Wichita State 3 - , UNI 1955 , Tulsa 3 - , Wichita St. 1956 , Houston 3 - , Tulsa (2), 1957 Edgar S. “Eddie” Hickey, SLU N.M. State (1) 1958 George Smith, 2 - , Saint Louis 1959 George Smith, Cincinnati 2 - George Smith, Cincinnati 1960 Charles Orsborn, Bradley 2 - Charles Orsborn, Bradley 1961 , Cincinnati 2 - Ed Jucker, Cincinnati 1962 Charles Orsborn, Bradley 2 - , Tulsa 1963 Ed Jucker, Cincinnati 2 - , Bradley 1964 Maurice “Maury” John, Drake 2 - , Tulsa 1965 Gary Thompson, Wichita St. 2 - , Creighton 1966 Taylor Baker, Cincinnati 2 - , S. Illinois 1967 Joe Swank, Tulsa 1968 Maurice “Maury” John, Drake Larry Bird Trophy Winner 1969 Ken Hayes, Tulsa 2 - , UL Maurice “Maury” John, Drake In 2017, Missouri State’s Alize Johnson became the sixth Bear 2 - Larry Bird, Indiana State 1970 Maurice “Maury” John, Drake 2 - , Drake 1971 , Saint Louis player to win the league’s Newcomer of the Year award. 2 - Xavier McDaniel, WSU 1972 , Memphis St. 2 - , Bradley 1973 Ken Hayes, Tulsa Larry Bird Trophy Newcomer of the Year 2 - , Creighton , Louisville 2 - Darren Brooks, S. Illinois 1974 , Bradley Annual Recipients 1969 Joe Proctor, Memphis St. 2 - Doug McDermott, CU 1975 , New Mexico St. 1970 Dana Lewis, Tulsa 1969 Bobby “Bingo” Smith, TU 2 - Fred VanVleet, WSU 1976 Ron Ekker, West Texas St. 1970 , Cincinnati 1971 , Memphis St. 1977 Ken Hayes, New Mexico St. 1971 , Drake 1972 Seymour Reed, Bradley Defensive Player 1978 , Creighton 1972 Larry Finch, Memphis St. 1973 Jim Caruthers, Bradley 1979 , Indiana State 1973 , Memphis St. 1974 , Louisville 2 - , S. Illinois 1980 Dick Versace, Bradley 1974 Junior Bridgeman, Louisville 1975 Robert Elmore, Wichita St. 2 - , Illinois State 1981 Nolan Richardson, Tulsa 1975 Junior Bridgeman, Louisville 1976 Cheese Johnson, Wichita St. 2 - Darren Brooks, S. Illinois 1982 Gary Garner, Drake 1976 , S. Illinois 1977 Slab Jones, New Mexico St. 2 - , S. Illinois 1983 , New Mexico St. 1977 , Bradley 1978 Robert Gunn, New Mexico St. 2 - Tekele Cotton, Wichita St. 1984 , Illinois St. 1978 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1979 Mitchell Anderson, Bradley 1985 Nolan Richardson, Tulsa 1979 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1980 Lewis Lloyd, Drake Scholar-Athlete 1986 Dick Versace, Bradley 1980 Lewis Lloyd, Drake 1981 Jaime Pena, New Mexico St. 2 - Kent Williams, S. Illinois 1987 J.D. Barnett, Tulsa 1981 Lewis Lloyd, Drake , Tulsa 2 - Neil Plank, Illinois State , Wichita State 1982 Paul Pressey, Tulsa 1982 Steve Harris, Tulsa 2 - Colt Ryan, Evansville 1988 , Bradley 1983 , Wichita State 1983 John S. Williams, Indiana St. 2 - Reed Timmer, Drake 1989 , Creighton 1984 Xavier McDaniel, Wichita St. 1984 Kenny Perry, S. Illinois 1990 , S. Illinois 1985 Xavier McDaniel, Wichita St. 1985 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1991 , Indiana State 1986 , Bradley 1986 David Miller, Drake 1992 , Illinois State 1987 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1987 Rod Mason, Creighton 1993 Rudy Washington, Drake 1988 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1988 Eddie Bird, Indiana State 1994 Tubby Smith, Tulsa 1989 , Bradley 1989 Dion Thurman, Bradley 1995 Tubby Smith, Tulsa 1990 , Creighton 1990 Reggie Shields, Tulsa 1996 , Bradley 1991 , Creighton 1991 Reggie Wilson, Illinois St. 1997 , UNI 1992 Ashraf Amaya, S. Illinois 1992 Mark Morse, Tulsa 1998 , Illinois St. 1993 , Drake 1993 Curt Smith, Drake 1999 , Evansville 1994 Gary Collier, Tulsa 1994 Shea Seals, Tulsa 2000 , Indiana St. 1995 , S. Illinois 1995 B.J. Windhorst, Drake 2001 Dana Altman, Creighton 1996 , Bradley 1996 Rodney Buford, Creighton 2002 Dana Altman, Creighton 1997 Jason Daisy, UNI 1997 Danny Moore, Missouri St. 2003 , S. Illinois 1998 , Illinois State 1998 Chris Thunell, S. Illinois 2004 , S. Illinois 1999 Marcus Wilson, Evansville 1999 Tarise Bryson, Illinois St. 2005 Chris Lowery, S. Illinois 2000 , Indiana State 2000 Kent Williams, S. Illinois 2006 , Wichita St. 2001 Tarise Bryson, Illinois St. 2001 Mike Wallace, Missouri St. 2007 Chris Lowery, S. Illinois 2002 Kyle Korver, Creighton 2002 Rolan Roberts, S. Illinois 2008 , Drake 2003 Kyle Korver, Creighton 2003 Aaron Hogg, Wichita State 2009 Ben Jacobson, UNI 2004 Darren Brooks, S. Illinois 2004 Marcellus Sommerville, BU 2010 Ben Jacobson, UNI 2005 Darren Brooks, S. Illinois 2005 Lorenzo Gordon, Illinois St. 2011 , Missouri St. 2006 Paul Miller, Wichita State 2006 Nick Porter, Creighton 2012 Gregg Marshall, Wichita St. 2007 Jamaal Tatum, S. Illinois 2007 Spencer Laurie, Missouri St. 2013 Gregg Marshall, Wichita St. 2008 Adam Emmenecker, Drake 2008 P’Allen Stinnett, Creighton 2014 Gregg Marshall, Wichita St. 2009 Booker Woodfox, CU 2009 Chamberlain Oguchi, ILS 2015 Ben Jacobson, UNI 2010 Adam Koch, UNI 2010 Adam Leonard, MSU 2016 , S. Illinois 2011 Kyle Weems, Missouri St. 2011 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2017 Dan Muller, Illinois State 2012 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2012 Carl Hall, Wichita State 2018 TBA (March 1) 2013 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2013 , Wichita St. 2014 Fred VanVleet, Wichita St. 2014 Milton Doyle, Loyola 2015 Seth Tuttle, UNI 2015 DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, ILS 2016 Dequon Miller, Missouri State 2016 Fred VanVleet, Wichita St. Nolan Richardson won two 2017 , Illinois State 2017 Alize Johnson, Missouri State 2018 Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State MVC Coach of the Year honors 2018 Clayton Custer, Loyola while at Tulsa (1981, 1985). Missouri Valley Conference Award Winners Freshman of the Year Sixth-Man Award Back-To-Back Winners 1986 Bart Friedrick, Drake 1997 Steve Hansell, Illinois St. 1987 Joe Griffin, Wichita State 1998 Doug Swenson, Creighton Coach of the Year 1988 Eddie Bird, Indiana State 1999 Curt Begle, Evansville 1989 Tony Harvey, S. Illinois 2000 Joshua Cross, S. Illinois George Smith, UC (58, 59) 1990 Ashraf Amaya, S. Illinois 2001 Mike Wallace, Missouri St. Maury John, DU (68, 69, 70) 1991 James Hamilton, Bradley 2002 Terrell Taylor, Creighton Tubby Smith, Tulsa (94, 95) 1992 Marcus Timmons, SIU 2003 Aaron Hogg, Wichita State Dana Altman, CU (01, 02) 1993 Deon Jackson, Bradley 2004 LaMar Owen, S. Illinois Ben Jacobson, UNI (09, 10) 1994 Shea Seals, Tulsa 2005 Tony Young, S. Illinois Gregg Marshall (12, 13, 14) 1995 Dan Muller, Illinois State 2006 Kellen Easley, Missouri St. 1996 Rodney Buford, Creighton 2007 Deven Mitchell, MSU Larry Bird Trophy Winners 1997 Jason Perez, Wichita State 2008 Booker Woodfox, CU 1998 Ryan Sears, Creighton 2009 Lucas O’Rear, UNI Junior Bridgeman, UL (74, 75) 1999 Victor Williams, Illinois St. 2010 Lucas O’Rear, UNI Larry Bird, INS (78, 79) 2000 Kent Williams, S. Illinois 2011 Ben Smith, Wichita State Lewis Lloyd, Drake (80, 81) 2001 Luke McDonald, Drake 2012 Ned Cox, Evansville Xavier McDaniel, WSU (84, 85) 2002 Randy Burns, Wichita St. 2013 Ethan Wragge, Creighton Hersey Hawkins, BU (87, 88) 2003 David Moss, Indiana State 2014 Khristian Smith, Indiana St. Kyle Korver, CU (02, 03) 2004 Blake Ahearn, Missouri St. 2015 Wes Washpun, UNI Darren Brooks, SIU (04, 05) 2005 Eric Coleman, UNI 2016 Mislav Brzoja, Evansville Doug McDermott, CU (12, 13) 2006 Bryan Mullins, S. Illinois 2017 Aundre Jackson, Loyola 2007 Osiris Eldridge, Illinois St. 2018 Tyler Smithpeters, SIU Defensive Player 2008 P’Allen Stinnett, Creighton Ashraf Amaya, SIU (92, 93) 2009 Kevin Dillard, S. Illinois Eagle Bank & Trust Dan Muller, ILS (96, 97) 2010 Colt Ryan, Evansville Scholar-Athlete of the Year Darren Brooks, SIU (04, 05) 2011 Doug McDermott, Creighton In 2017, Aundre Jackson be- Bryan Mullins, SIU (08, 09) 2002 Kent Williams, S. Illinois 2012 Seth Tuttle, UNI Tekele Cotton, WSU (14, 15) 2013 Marcus Marshall, Missouri St. came the first from Loyola to 2003 Kent Williams, S. Illinois 2014 Milton Doyle, Loyola earn the league’s Newcomer of 2004 Michael Lindeman, CU Scholar-Athlete 2015 Brenton Scott, Indiana State the Year award. 2005 Neil Plank, Illinois State 2016 Markis McDuffie, Wichita St. 2006 Neil Plank, Illinois State 2 - Kent Williams, S. Illinois 2017 , Wichita St. 2007 Jamaal Tatum, S. Illinois 2 - Neil Plank, Illinois State 2018 Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Defensive Player of the Year 2008 Adam Emmenecker, Drake 2 - Colt Ryan, Evansville 2009 Jason Holsinger, Evansville 2 - Reed Timmer, Drake 1989 Dwayne Praylow, Wichita St. Bryan Mullins, S. Illinois Michael Scott, Tulsa 2010 Adam Koch, UNI 1990 Randy Blair, Illinois State Sixth-Man Award 2011 Will Creekmore, Missouri St. 1991 Michael Scott, Tulsa 2012 Colt Ryan, Evansville 2 - Lucas O’Rear, UNI 1992 Ashraf Amaya, S. Illinois 2013 Colt Ryan, Evansville 1993 Ashraf Amaya, S. Illinois 2014 Walt Lemon Jr., Bradley 1994 Lou Dawkins, Tulsa 2015 Nate Buss, UNI 1995 Marcus Timmons, SIU 2016 Reed Timmer, Drake 1996 Dan Muller, Illinois State 2017 Reed Timmer, Drake 1997 Dan Muller, Illinois State 2018 TBA (March 1) 1998 Adebayo Akinkunle, BU 1999 Monte Jenkins, S. Illinois 2000 Nate Green, Indiana State 2001 , Bradley 2002 Rolan Roberts, S. Illinois 2003 Jamar Howard, Wichita St. 2004 Darren Brooks, S. Illinois 2005 Darren Brooks, S. Illinois 2006 Patrick O’Bryant, Bradley 2007 Randal Falker, S. Illinois 2008 Bryan Mullins, S. Illinois 2009 Bryan Mullins, S. Illinois 2010 Dinma Odiakosa, ILS 2011 Kwadzo Ahelegbe, UNI 2012 Gregory Echenique, CU 2013 Dyricus Simms-Edwards, BU 2014 Tekele Cotton, Wichita State 2015 Tekele Cotton, Wichita State 2016 Egidijus Mockevicius, UE 2017 Paris Lee, Illinois State 2018 Ben Richardson, Loyola

Only four players in MVC history have earned Defensive Player of the Year and the Larry Bird Trophy in the same season. SIU’s Ashraf Amaya was the first to do so, in 1992.