• Lou Henson Award Website
Four OVC men's basketball players have been named to the 2021-22 Lou Henson All-America Team presented by CollegeInsider.com.
The selections, which were among 40 players nationally selected, included Belmont's
Nick Muszynski, Murray State's
Tevin Brown and
KJ Williams and Morehead State's
Johni Broome.
The quartet is now a finalist for the Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented to the top mid-major player in Division I. Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.
Muszynski is one of only nine players over the last 30 years with at least 1,800 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 blocked shots, and joins the likes of Tim Duncan (Wake Forest), David West (Xavier), Nick Collison (Kansas) and John Wallace (Syracuse) to reach the standard. His 1,886 points ranks 11th among active players while his 105 career double-figure scoring games is second among active front court player. He earned first-team All-OVC honors four times in leading Belmont to a 104-25 record during his career. This season he averaged 15.8 points and 5.2 rebounds/game while blocking 52 shots and hitting 55.9 percent from the field.
Brown, a first-team All-OVC selection, led Murray State to a 31-3 overall and 18-0 OVC record during the 2021-22 season. He tallied 47 steals and averaged 5.6 rebounds per game in 34 contests. Offensively, he hit a team-high 106 3-pointers, the sixth-most in OVC single-season history. He finished his career with 354 made 3-pointers, the most in OVC history. This season he averaged 16.8 points and 5.6 rebounds/game while adding 104 assists, 47 steals and 21 blocks. Over the past 30 years, Brown is the only Division I player to record at least at least 350 made 3-pointers, 645 rebounds, 400 assists and 65 blocks in their career.
Williams, the OVC Player of the Year, was named the USBWA National Player of the Week twice during the season, the first OVC player to accomplish that feat. He led the Racers to 31 overall wins, an 18-0 OVC record and NCAA Tournament victory over San Francisco. In 34 games he averaged 18.0 points and 8.4 rebounds/game while netting 48 steals and blocking 21 shots. He hit 53.8 percent from the field and made 37 3-pointers. His career-high scoring game was 39 points at Tennessee State. He also produced 11 double-doubles this season
Broome, the OVC Defensive Player of the Year and a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American, blocked a Morehead State record 131 shots, ranking third in the nation in blocks. That figure was the third-highest single-season total in OVC history, just eight off the record set back in 1982. Broome tied the MSU record for blocks in a game when he rejected 12 at UT Martin on Feb. 16. He also recorded two or more blocks in the Eagles' final 21 games, including six in a game nine times. In just two seasons, his 187 career blocks is already third all-time in program history. Broome was equally as powerful on the rebounding end where he led the conference in total rebounds (358), rebounds per game (10.5), defensive rebounds (246) and defensive boards per game (7.2). He had four games with double-digit rebounds just on the defensive end. Broome also totaled 23 double-doubles, the second highest single-season total in program history and most for an OVC player since 2015-16.
The award is named after Henson, 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.