BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - University of Tennessee at Martin junior guard Lester Hudson was tabbed as the 2007-08 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year while freshman teammate Marquis Weddle took home Freshman of the Year honors in a vote by the League's head coaches and sports information directors. Morehead State head coach Donnie Tyndall, in his second season coaching his alma mater, was named the OVC Coach of the Year.
Hudson put together one of the best all-around seasons in OVC history in 2007-08 and helped his team make a six-game improvement in its league record. The Skyhawks were picked last (11th) in a preseason poll but finished fourth and qualified for the OVC Tournament for only the sixth time since joining the league in 1992. Hudson made school, Conference and NCAA history during the season, including becoming the first Division I men's player to record a quadruple-double (25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals vs. Central Baptist College) in a college game. He also had a triple-double, eight additional double-doubles and cracked the 30-point plateau 11 times during his rookie season in the league. Entering this week he ranked fourth nationally in points per game (25.5) and steals (2.9) and ninth in 3-pointers made per game (3.8). Entering the week, Hudson ranked among the top 90 nationally in each rebounding (86th, 7.8/game), assists (88th, 4.5/game), 3-point percentage (65th, 39.3%) and free throw percentage (86th, 82.1%). This season Hudson has knocked down a school and OVC record 121 3-pointers. Hudson, a native of Memphis, Tenn. who transferred from Southwest Tennessee Community College, is the first UT Martin player to receive the OVC Player of the Year award. Hudson, who was also named to the OVC All-Newcomer squad, became just the fourth Skyhawk ever named to the All-OVC first-team.
In his freshman season Weddle complimented Hudson perfectly in UT Martin's attack and helped the Skyhawks to its best OVC season on record. He has scored in double figures in 23 of 32 games, hit the 30-point plateau on three occasions and ranked fourth in the OVC in scoring (17.0 points/game). He scored a season-best 39 points in UTM's triple-overtime first round OVC Tournament victory over Samford. Weddle also ranked third in 3-pointers made per game (2.71), as he has knocked down 96 trifectas during the season, including 8-of-16 in a game against Tennessee Tech and 9-of-21 against Samford. He finished the regular season fifth in minutes played (34.1/game) and 15th in field goal percentage (40.0%). Weddle becomes the second UT Martin player named OVC Freshman of the Year (Okechi Egbe was honored in 1999-00).
Tyndall, who played at Morehead State from 1990-93, has made a dramatic turnaround in just two seasons at his alma mater. Tyndall took a team that was 4-23 (3-17 and last in the OVC) the year prior to his arrival and guided them to a 12-18 (8-12 OVC) mark a year ago and a 15-15 overall record and 12-8 OVC mark this season. That marked a nine-game OVC win improvement in just two seasons. This season the Eagles garnered the No. 3 seed in the OVC Tournament and hosted a first round game for the first time since the 2004 season. Morehead State also compiled an impressive 11-3 record on its home court. Tyndall is the first Morehead State coach to be honored with the Coach of the Year Award since 1994-95 (Dick Fick) and is the fourth overall MSU coach to win the award (Jack Schalow, Wayne Martin and Fick were the others).
ALL-OVC TEAMS
Juniors made up 80 percent of the 2008 All-OVC first team, as joining Hudson on the first squad were three other juniors and a senior. The other first-team juniors included 2007 OVC Player of the Year Drake Reed of Austin Peay, Tennessee State guard Bruce Price and Eastern Kentucky forward Mike Rose. The lone senior was Murray State guard Bruce Carter.
A season after becoming the first sophomore named OVC Player of the Year in nearly two decades, Reed once again led a very balanced Austin Peay attack, as five Governors finished the season averaging double figures in points on the way to the team's second consecutive OVC Regular Season Championship. Reed scored in double figures in 25 of 31 games and was seventh in the OVC in scoring (15.1) and 12th in rebounding (5.7). He also logged a lot of minutes for the Govs, finished the regular season ranked ninth among all Conference players in minutes played/game (33.03). Reed scored 20 or more points six different times during the course of the season, including 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds in a triple-overtime contest at Southeast Missouri State. He had six double-doubles on the year, the sixth-highest total in the Conference.
Although the OVC does not award a Comeback Player of the Year award, Price would have been the recipient had the award existed. After missing all but six games during the 2005-06 season and the entire 2006-07 campaign, Price returned to the form that made him a second-team All-OVC pick in 2004-05 and the OVC Freshman of the Year in 2003-04. This season he ranks second in the OVC in scoring (17.8) and third in each assists (4.8) and steals (2.2). Price also rebounded well for a guard (19th in the OVC at 4.8 per contest) and took care of the ball (he ranked 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio). Price scored in double figures in all but one contest and played some of his best games against top competition, as he scored 34 points in a loss at nationally-ranked Indiana and had 17 points and four assists in a victory at Illinois.
A second-team selection a year ago, Rose upped his game again this season in ranking fifth in the OVC in scoring (15.7) and free throw percentage (81.5%), fourth in steals (1.9/game) and third in minutes played (36.14/game). He also made his share of 3-pointers, ranking 12th in the Conference in 3-pointers made per game (2.07). Rose scored 20 or more points seven times during the season, including a career-high 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting against Samford. He also pulled down his first two double-doubles of his career, netting 17 points and 10 rebounds in a game against Jacksonville State and 25 points and 11 rebounds against Southeast Missouri State.
Carter started the season by scoring in double figures in only four of his first 10 games but since has scored double-digit points in his last 20 contests. He finished the season ranked fourth in free throw percentage (81.7%), 10th in scoring (14.2), 11th in 3-point field goal percentage (39.8%), 13th in field goal percentage (49.0%) and 15th in rebounding (5.4). Carter scored a season-high 26 points in the Racers victory over Austin Peay. He also recorded back-to-back double-doubles in January, when he scored 15 points and had 13 rebounds against Southeast Missouri and 19 points and 11 boards versus Samford.
Five individuals were named to the All-OVC second team including a pair of Tennessee Tech players in senior guard Anthony Fisher (a first-team pick a year ago) and senior forward Amadi McKenzie (a second-team pick a year ago), Austin Peay senior guard Derek Wright, Samford senior center Travis Peterson and UT Martin senior forward Gerald Robinson (an All-Newcomer selection in 2006-07).
Five players were also selected to the OVC All-Newcomer team, which was comprised of first-year players in the League. That list included the two UT Martin players - OVC Player of the Year Hudson (a junior college transfer) and OVC Freshman of the Year Weddle - who were bestowed with individual awards. Morehead State also had two selections on the All-Newcomer squad - freshman center Kenneth Faried and junior forward Leon Buchanan - and the team was rounded out by Tennessee State freshman guard Gerald Robinson, Jr.
OVC Player of the Year: Lester Hudson, UT Martin
OVC Freshmen of the Year: Marquis Weddle, UT Martin
OVC Coach of the Year: Donnie Tyndall, Morehead State
ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM
Lester Hudson, UT Martin
*Drake Reed, Austin Peay
**Bruce Carter, Murray State
$Bruce Price, Tennessee State
**Mike Rose, Eastern Kentucky
ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM
*Anthony Fisher, Tennessee Tech
Derek Wright, Austin Peay
**Amadi McKenzie, Tennessee Tech
Travis Peterson, Samford
#Gerald Robinson, UT Martin
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Lester Hudson, UT Martin
Marquis Weddle, UT Martin
Gerald Robinson, Jr., Tennessee State
Kenneth Faried, Morehead State
Leon Buchanan, Morehead State
* - All-OVC 1st Team in 2006-07
** - All-OVC 2nd Team in 2006-07
# - All-Newcomer Team in 2006-07
$ - All-OVC 2nd Team in 2003-04