BOSTON – Four Southern Conference student-athletes are among the 50 members of the initial watch list for the Lou Henson Award, CollegeInsider.com announced Tuesday. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in NCAA Division I basketball.
 
Furman’s Noah Gurley and Clay Mounce, UNC Greensboro’s Isaiah Miller and Western Carolina’s Mason Faulkner grace the watch list. Miller, the defending SoCon Player of the Year and two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year, was a member of the Lou Henson All-American team last season.
 
The award is named after Lou Henson, who is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason ppearances, 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.
 
Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, 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.

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