Ohio Valley Conference

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Austin Peay senior forward Trenton Hassell, who ranks among the top 15 players in the Ohio Valley Conference in eight different statistical categories, was selected as the OVC men's basketball Player of the Year for 2000-01 in voting by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

The conference's other top honors went to Tennessee-Martin junior forward Brian Foster as the OVC Newcomer of the Year, Morehead State guard/forward Ricky Minard as the OVC Freshman of the Year, and Tennessee Tech's Jeff Lebo as OVC Coach of the Year. The awards will be presented Thursday night in Nashville on the eve of the semifinals and finals of the 2001 OVC Basketball Tournament.

Hassell has excelled in every phase of the game during his Austin Peay career, earning first-team All-OVC honors in all three years. For the second straight season, the 6-foot-5 forward from Clarksville, Tenn. is the only Division I player in the nation to be among the top five in his conference in scoring (21.6 ppg/3rd), rebounding (7.9 rpg/3rd) and assists (4.7 apg/4th). Hassell also ranks in the top 10 in the OVC in field goal percentage (49.7%/8th), free throw percentage (79.3%/9th) and three-point FG percentage (39.8%/9th). During his career, he has recorded 21 double-doubles and three triple-doubles. Hassell was recognized as a preseason first-team All-America selection by Playboy magazine, and earned national Player of the Week honors from ESPN.com's Andy Katz after leading the Govs to the championship of the Top of the World Classic in Alaska. He has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine this season. Hassell is the fourth Gov to be named OVC Player of the Year.

Foster developed into one of the OVC's top post players in his first season at Tennessee-Martin. The 6-foot-5 forward from Ironton, Mo., led the Skyhawks and was 13th in the conference in scoring at 13.7 ppg, and he was also among league leaders in field goal percentage (52.2%/4th) and rebounds (4.9 rpg/20th). Foster scored in double figures in 16 of UTM's final 18 games, topping the 20-point mark five times. In OVC play, Foster upped his scoring average to 16.9 ppg. He is the just the second Tennessee-Martin player to be selected as OVC Newcomer of the Year.

Minard had a sensational rookie season, ranking among the OVC's top 15 players in six different statistical categories. The 6-foot-4 guard/forward from Mansfield, Ohio led Morehead State and was 8th in the league in scoring at 16.9 ppg, and tallied double figures in his first 25 collegiate games before having the streak snapped due to a painful thigh injury. Minard is also among league leaders in steals (1.8 spg/6th), field goal percentage (49.2%/13th), free throw percentage (78.4%/10th) and three-point percentage (40.0%/7th). He is only the second Morehead State player to capture OVC Freshman of the Year accolades.

Lebo earned OVC Coach of the Year honors for the second year in a row, becoming only the second coach in league history to win the award in back-to-back seasons. In just his third year with the Golden Eagles, Lebo guided Tennessee Tech to its first OVC regular-season title since 1984-85. Tech set a school record for conference victories in a season with 13, topping the mark of 11 set just last year. With a 19-8 overall record, the Golden Eagles can also achieve their first 20-win season since 1946-47 with a triumph in the opening round of the OVC Tournament.

ALL-OVC TEAMS

Joining Hassell on the All-OVC first team are senior guard Kyle Hill of Eastern Illinois, senior forward Isaac Spencer of Murray State, senior forward Larrie Smith of Tennessee Tech and sophomore forward Henry Domercant of Eastern Illinois.

Hill was selected to the All-OVC first team for the second year in a row. The 6-foot-2 guard from Summit, Ill. is second in the OVC and fifth in the nation in scoring at 22.4 ppg, and has netted 20 or more points in 23 of 27 games. Hill also ranks 7th in the OVC in assists (4.1 apg), 9th in steals (1.6 spg), 17th in rebounds (5.1 rpg), 3rd in free throw percentage (83.6%) and 6th in three-point percentage (40.8%). He is the 3rd-leading scorer in EIU history with 1,688 points and needs just 15 more to move up to second.

Spencer is making his third straight appearance on the All-OVC first team. The 6-foot-6 forward from Montgomery, Ala. put together another outstanding campaign, ranking 4th in the conference in scoring (20.8 ppg), 7th in rebounds (6.9 rpg), 9th in assists (3.9 apg) and 15th in field goal percentage (48.0%). Spencer, who is also a three-time OVC All-Tournament team selection, is 7th on the OVC's career scoring list with 2,184 points and needs just 13 more to move to sixth place. He also has 957 career rebounds and is trying to join Popeye Jones as the only MSU players to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.

Smith moved up to the All-OVC first team after earning second-team honors a year ago and capturing the league's Newcomer of the Year award. The 6-foot-5 forward from Nashville leads the OVC with 8.9 rebounds per game, and is also 9th in the conference in scoring (16.4 ppg), 2nd in field goal percentage (59.3%), 2nd in steals (2.0 spg) and 11th in free throw percentage (77.9%). Smith recorded a league-high 11 double-doubles this season and has 19 in his two-year career. As the team's lone senior, he played a critical role in leading Tennessee Tech to its first OVC regular-season title in 16 years.

Domercant exploded on the scene this season after serving as EIU's top reserve as a freshman. The 6-foot-4 small forward from Naperville, Ill. leads the OVC and ranks third in the nation in scoring at 22.9 ppg, having poured in 30 or more points five times this year. He also tops the Panthers and is 6th in the league in rebounds (7.0 rpg), and ranks 7th in field goal percentage (49.8%), 4th in free throw percentage (82.4%) and 3rd in three-point percentage (44.9%). Domercant was named as one of the top 25 small forwards in the nation this season by CBS Sportsline.com.

Seven players were selected to the All-OVC second team due to ties in the balloting. Chosen to the squad were senior guard Michael Stokes of Southeast Missouri, senior guard Jamie Roberts of Tennessee State, senior center Joe Williams of Austin Peay, senior guard Nick Stapleton of Austin Peay, junior forward Brian Foster of Tennessee-Martin, senior guard Matt Britton of Eastern Illinois and freshman guard/forward Ricky Minard of Morehead State.

Selected to the All-OVC third team were sophomore guard Leigh Gayden of Tennessee Tech, junior guard Justin Burdine of Murray State, senior forward Lavoris Jerry of Eastern Kentucky, sophomore guard Brent Jolly of Tennessee Tech and junior forward Kyle Umberger of Morehead State.

Receiving honorable mention were sophomore guard Okechi Egbe of Tennessee-Martin, senior guard/forward Emmanuel McCuthison of Southeast Missouri, sophomore forward Antione Whelchel of Murray State and freshman guard Garrett Richardson of Tennessee State.

All-OVC First Team

Trenton Hassell, 6'5, 200, Sr., F, Clarksville, Tenn. - Austin Peay*

Kyle Hill, 6'2, 180, Sr., G, Summit, Ill. - Eastern Illinois*

Isaac Spencer, 6'6, 215, Sr., F, Montgomery, Ala. - Murray State*

Larrie Smith, 6'5, 200, Sr., F, Nashville, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech#

Henry Domercant, 6'4, 200, So., F, Naperville, Ill. - Eastern Illinois

All-OVC Second Team

Michael Stokes, 6'0, 165, Sr., G, Emporia, Va. - Southeast Missouri%

Jamie Roberts, 6'3, 190, Sr., G, Albany, Ga. - Tennessee State%

Joe Williams, 6'8, 205, Sr., C, Clementon, N.J. - Austin Peay%

Nick Stapleton, 6'1, 165, Sr., G, Flint, Mich. - Austin Peay#

Brian Foster, 6'5, 225, Jr., F, Ironton, Mo. - Tennessee-Martin

Matt Britton, 6'1, 180, Sr., G, Bloomfield, Ind. - Eastern Illinois

Ricky Minard, 6'4, 188, Fr., G/F, Mansfield, Ohio - Morehead State

All-OVC Third Team

Leigh Gayden, 5'10, 160, So., G, Atlanta, Ga. - Tennessee Tech

Justin Burdine, 6'1, 170, Jr., G, Savannah, Tenn. - Murray State

Lavoris Jerry, 6'3, 180, Sr., F, Ocala, Fla. - Eastern Kentucky

Brent Jolly, 6'5, 180, So., G, Sparta, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech

Kyle Umberger, 6'7, 238, Jr., F, Ashland, Ky. - Morehead State

All-OVC Honorable Mention

Okechi Egbe, 6'5, 190, So., G/F, Decatur, Ala. - Tennessee-Martin

Emmanuel McCuthison, 6'4, 180, Sr., G/F, Chattanooga, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri

Antione Whelchel, 6'5, 215, So., F, Gainesville, Ga. - Murray State

Garrett Richardson, 6'3, 185, Fr., G, El Paso, Texas - Tennessee State



OVC Player of the Year: Trenton Hassell, Austin Peay

OVC Coach of the Year: Jeff Lebo, Tennessee Tech

OVC Newcomer of the Year: Brian Foster, Tennessee-Martin

OVC Freshman of the Year: Ricky Minard, Morehead State

* All-OVC 1st Team in 1999-00 # All-OVC 2nd Team in 1999-00 % All-OVC 3rd Team in 1999-00