OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE

UT Martin's Hudson and Campbell, Morehead State's Faried and Murray State's Aska Take Home Top OVC Men's Awards

March 5, 2009 Not For Release Until at 6:30 p.m. CT Contact: Kyle Schwartz

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - For the second straight year University of Tennessee at Martin senior guard Lester Hudson has been tabbed Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, as announced by the Conference on Thursday. Joining Hudson among the 2008-09 OVC award winners (done by a vote the League's head coaches and sports information directors) is his coach, Bret Campbell, who was named OVC Coach of the Year for the first time. Other award winners included Morehead State sophomore center , who was named the inaugural OVC Defensive Player of the Year, and Murray State forward Ivan Aska who was tabbed OVC Freshman of the Year.

Hudson is the first OVC player to repeat as Player of the Year since Murray State's won the award in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Overall he is the 11th OVC player to win the award in back-to-back years in the 61 years of the league. After one of the best all-around seasons in league history a year ago, Hudson, the preseason Player of the Year this season, put together another season to remember. During the regular season Hudson averaged 26.6 points a contest, which was second nationally (trailing only Davidson's ). He scored 20 or more points in the first 26 games of the season, becoming the only player in Division I to accomplish that feat. He has scored 30 or more points in eight games this season, including a season-high 41 points in a road victory over Central Arkansas. But Hudson does more than just score, as he has nine double-doubles this season, and is one of just 12 players nationally who average 5-plus point, 4-plus rebounds, 4-plus assists and 2-plus steals per game (teammate Delrico Lane is another one of the 12 players). Hudson also leads the UT Martin team (and ranks third in the OVC) in rebounding (7.7 rebounds/game), his 2.4 steals per game ranks 21st nationally, his 2.9 3-pointers made/game is 32nd and his 88.3 percent percentage is the 13th-best nationally. The Memphis native has been named OVC Player of the Week seven times this season (including five weeks in a row at one point) and 11 times in his two-year career; both are OVC records. Hudson is also one of only 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award, which is based on personal qualities that define a complete student- athlete who displays accomplishments across four pillars (classroom, community, character and competition).

Campbell earned his first OVC Coach of the Year award in his 10th season at the helm of the Skyhawk program. After having only two .500 or better records in his first eight years as head coach, Campbell has guided the UT Martin program to new heights over the past two years. A season ago the team was picked to finish last in a preseason league vote, but finished the season with an 11-9 mark which was good enough for fourth place, tying the team's highest Conference finish ever. The team also won its first OVC Tournament game, advancing to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Austin Peay by a single point. With his team picked to finish second this season, Campbell once again exceeded expectations, leading the team to a 14-4 Conference record and the program's first-ever OVC Championship. The team won 21 games during the regular season, marking the first-time the program had won more than 20 games since joining the OVC (and the Division I ranks) in 1992-93. With 124 victories in his tenure at UT Martin, Campbell is one of just three active OVC coaches with 100 victories as a coach in the league. Campbell is the second UT Martin coach to earn the OVC Coach of the Year award, joining Cal Luther, who won the award in 1995-96. Luther, who also coached at Murray State, is the winningiest coach in OVC history.

Faried earned the first-ever OVC Defensive Player of the Year Award after grabbing rebounds at a record setting pace and altering numerous opponent shots in 2008-09. In 31 regular season games, Faried grabbed 392 rebounds (12.6/game), which ranked fourth nationally. That number was up 4.6 rebounds a contest from his freshman season when he was named to the OVC All-Newcomer Team. In helping limit opponent's second shots, Faried pulled down a career-best 24 rebounds in a game earlier this season, which ranks as the second-highest total nationally this season. He also had a 20- game, a 19-rebound game, an 18-rebound game and two 17-rebound outings during the year. Faried also blocked 61 shots on the season, the second most in the OVC, while his 2.1 steals per game was the third-best average among OVC players. All of those factors Faried brought to the court helped Morehead State lead the OVC in percentage defense (41.7%). Faried tallied 20 double-doubles in 31 regular season All-OVC Men's Basketball - Page 2 games in 2008-09, the third-best total nationally. One of his best all-around games of the season came on Feb. 7 at Tennessee Tech when he scored 23 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and had six steals.

Aska made an immediate impact in his first season with the Racer program, ranking third on the team in scoring (10.1 points/ game) and leading the team in rebounding with 5.9 boards per contest despite starting just 16 of 29 contests. Aska hit 51.6 percent from the field (seventh in the OVC), blocked seven shots and had 15 steals. Three times during his rookie season he was named Freshman of the Week. Late in the season Aska had a season-best 23 points and 11 rebounds as Murray State topped UT Martin in a key league matchup. It marked his second double-double of the season.

ALL-OVC TEAMS

Last season four juniors and a senior made up the All-OVC first-team; this season the first-team includes four seniors and a sophomore. Three of those selections were repeats while the two additions were each All-Newcomer Team picks a season ago. The 2008-09 All-OVC first-team includes Hudson, the Player of the Year, and Faried, the Defensive Player of the Year. Joining them is Austin Peay senior forward Drake Reed, Eastern Kentucky guard Mike Rose and Morehead State senior forward Leon Buchanan.

In most years Austin Peay's Reed might be a runaway winner of the Player of the Year Award. Reed, a three-time All-OVC first- team selection, was named OVC Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2007 and has only improved his statistical resume since that season. Reed finished the regular season with a 22.4 points/game average which ranked second in the OVC and 12th nationally; among the nation's forwards he is second (behind only Notre Dame's Luke Harangody) in scoring average. He led the Governors and was tied for third in the league in rebounding (7.7) and his 57 percent field goal percentage was third best in the Conference. Reed was named OVC Player of the Week four times during the season, bringing his career weekly awards total to six. During the season Reed became the first player in Govs history to score more than 1,900 points and grab more than 750 rebounds in a career. He scored 30 or more points seven times during the season and will finish his career as Austin Peay's all- time leader in career starts.

Rose put together his third consecutive all-star season, increasing his totals in nearly every category while being among the nation's most accurate shooters. During the regular season Rose hit 97-of-199 3-pointers (48.7%), which ranked him second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage. Rose knocked down 3.2 triples per game, which was the 14th-best total in the country. Rose also averaged 20.2 points a contest, the third-highest total in the league and 23rd highest total nationally; he became the first Colonel player to average more than 20 points a contest in more than 20 years. He led EKU in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, making him one of only 10 players nationally to lead his team in each of those categories.

In his second year with the program, Buchanan once again led Morehead State in scoring, this season increasing his scoring average from 13.2 points a game to 15.3. He was second on the Eagle team in rebounding (6.5/game) and ranked fifth in the OVC in field goal percentage (53.1%).

Five individuals were named to the All-OVC second team including Tennessee State sophomore guard Gerald Robinson, Jr. (an All-Newcomer pick last season), Austin Peay junior guard Wes Channels, Eastern Illinois junior guard Romain Martin (the 2007 OVC Freshman of the Year), Murray State junior forward Danero Thomas and Tennessee Tech senior center Daniel Northern.

Six players were selected to the OVC All-Newcomer Team, which was comprised of first-year players in the League. That included two players from Murray State - Aska, who was named OVC Freshman of the Year, and sophomore guard Isacc Miles (a transfer from Creighton). The team also included UT Martin junior guard Delrico Lane, Tennessee State freshman guard Parker Smith, Eastern Illinois junior guard T.J. Marion and Tennessee Tech freshman forward Kevin Murphy.

-OVC- 2008-09 All-Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Teams (as voted on by the league's head basketball coaches and sports information directors)

OVC Player of the Year: Lester Hudson, UT Martin OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Kenneth Faried, Morehead State OVC Freshmen of the Year: Ivan Aska, Murray State OVC Coach of the Year: Bret Campbell, UT Martin

ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM

NAME, SCHOOL POS. HT. WT. CL. HOMETOWN KEY STATS *Lester Hudson, UT Martin G 6-2 190 Sr. Memphis, Tenn. 26.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.4 spg *Mike Rose, Eastern Kentucky G 6-3 195 Sr. Naperville, Ill. 20.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 48.7 3FG% *Drake Reed, Austin Peay F 6-5 225 Sr. Clarksville, Tenn. 22.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 57.0 FG% #Leon Buchanan, Morehead State F 6-5 210 Sr. Albany, Ga. 15.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 53.1 FG% #Kenneth Faried, Morehead State C 6-8 215 So. Newark, N.J. 13.5 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 56.0 FG%

ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM

NAME, SCHOOL POS. HT. WT. CL. HOMETOWN KEY STATS Wes Channels, Austin Peay G 6-3 210 Jr. Memphis, Tenn. 16.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.2 apg, 71 3-pts #Gerald Robinson, Jr., Tennessee State G 6-1 185 So. Nashville, Tenn. 17.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.0 spg Romain Martin, Eastern Illinois G 6-3 185 Jr. Minneapolis, Minn. 15.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 74 3-pointers Danero Thomas, Murray State F 6-4 190 Jr. New Orleans, La. 12.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 spg, 41.8 FG% Daniel Northern, Tennessee Tech C 6-9 210 Sr. Warner-Robins, Ga. 12.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.6 bpg, 49.4 FG%

ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM

NAME, SCHOOL POS. HT. WT. CL. HOMETOWN Isacc Miles, Murray State G 6-2 205 So. Kansas City, Mo. 10.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.8 apg Delrico Lane, UT Martin G 6-1 190 Jr. Greensboro, Fla. 5.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.9 apg, 2.3 spg Parker Smith, Tennessee State G 6-3 165 Fr. Gainesville, Ga. 9.3 ppg, 40.7 3FG%, 59 3-pointers T.J. Marion, Eastern Illinois G 6-4 195 Jr. Aurora, Ill. 9.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.6 apg Kevin Murphy, Tennessee Tech F 6-6 185 Fr. Fairburn, Ga. 9.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.7 apg Ivan Aska, Murray State F 6-7 230 Fr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 10.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 51.6 FG%

* - All-OVC 1st Team in 2007-08 # - All-Newcomer Team in 2007-08

Stats listed are through the completion of the regular season