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LARRY BIRD MVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- Adam Emmenecker, Drake
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR -- P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR -- P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton
DEFENSIVE MVP -- Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois
SIXTH-MAN OF THE YEAR -- Booker Woodfox, Creighton
PRAIRIE FARMS SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR -- TBA (March 6)
MOST IMPROVED TEAM CAPTAIN -- TBA (March 5)
???RAWLINGS??™ MVC COACH OF THE YEAR -- TBA (March 6)
Emmenecker set the Drake single-season assist mark at 177, bettering the previous record of 174 set by Al Stewart last year. His 6.10 per game average led the Missouri Valley Conference. Perhaps the most improbable MVC Player of the Year (based on pre-season expectations) in league history, Emmenecker entered the season with 64 career assists and 57 total points in his three previous seasons at Drake, which featured 58 games and two starts. This year, the senior started every game for Drake and led the team in minutes. His single-season marks this year of 223 points, 129 rebounds and 177 assists all more than doubled his cumulative career totals.
Emmenecker has helped the Bulldogs to a 25-4 overall mark and 15-3 conference record as Drake earned the tournament's top seed for the first time in the league's 32-year tournament history. At one point this year, Drake had won a school-record 21-straight games.
Emmenecker is the first Drake player to earn the league's top honor since 1993, when Curt Smith was voted the league's Player of the Year. Only two other Drake players have earned the top honor in the MVC, which began honoring Players of the Year in 1969 (Jeff Halliburton-1971 and Lewis Lloyd-1980 and 1981).
The league's Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year is P'Allen Stinnett. In his first year at Creighton, the first-year player from Brewster (N.H.) Academy via Las Vegas (Nev.) led the Bluejays in scoring with a 12.2 points per game average. He was second in steals for Dana Altman's ballclub, with 48, and also added 3.4 rebounds per game. He's the second Bluejay to win Newcomer of the Year honors in the past three seasons (Nick Porter in 2006). Ryan Sears was the last Bluejay to win Freshman of the Year honors, doing so in 1998.
Bryan Mullins of Southern Illinois highlights the league's all-Defense unit, earning the league's Defensive Player of the Year honor. A Saluki has won the honor in four of the past five years. Mullins ranked second in the conference in steals per game while earning selection to the defensive squad for the third-straight season.
For the 12th-consecutive season, the league's head coaches selected a ???Sixth Man Award??? recipient, and this season??™s honor goes to Creighton's Booker Woodfox. The honor is presented to the league's top reserve player (one who has started fewer than 25 percent of his team's games). Woodfox did not start any of Creighton's games, yet was one of the Bluejays' top scorers, averaging 9.1 points, and led the team with 46 treys.
2008 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men??™s Basketball Team
First Team Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown
Jeremy Crouch, Bradley Sr. G 6-5 Pekin (Ill.) High
Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State So. G 6-3 Chicago (Ill.) Phillips Academy
Adam Emmenecker, Drake Sr. G 6-1 Saginaw (Mich.) Arthur Hill High
Randal Falker, Southern Illinois Sr. F 6-7 St. Louis (Mo.) Gateway Tech
Josh Young, Drake So. G 6-1 Lawton (Okla.) Lawton Christian High
Second Team
Eric Coleman, Northern Iowa Sr. C 6-6 Maplewood (Minn.) Tartan High
Jonathan Cox, Drake Jr. F 6-8 Barrington (Ill.) High
Leonard Houston, Drake Sr. G 6-3 Holland (Mich.) West Ottawa High
Deven Mitchell, Missouri State Sr. F 6-5 Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo High
Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois Jr. G 6-2 Downers Grove (Ill.) High
Honorable-Mention Selections
Shy Ely, Evansville Jr. F/G 6-4 Indianapolis (Ind.) Speedway High
Gabe Moore, Indiana State Sr. G 6-1 Little Rock (Ark.) Mills High
Daniel Ruffin, Bradley Sr. G 5-10 Peoria (Ill.) Central High
Anthony Slack, Illinois State Sr. F 6-7 New Orleans (La.) John F. Kennedy High
P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton Fr. G 6-3 Las Vegas (Nev.) Brewster (N.H.) Academy
All-Newcomer Team
Ramon Clemente, Wichita State Jr. F 6-6 Queens (N.Y.) Paris Junior College
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley Fr. G 6-0 Chicago (Ill.) St. Patrick High
P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton Fr. G 6-3 Las Vegas (Nev.) Brewster (N.H.) Academy
Theron Wilson, Bradley Jr. G 6-5 Topeka (Kan.) Highland Park High
Booker Woodfox, Creighton Jr. G 6-1 Lewisville (Texas) High
All-Freshman Team
J.T. Durley, Wichita State Fr. F 6-7 Pittsburg (Texas) High
Kenny Lawson Jr., Creighton Fr. C 6-9 Oceanside (Calif.) Vista High
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley Fr. G 6-0 Chicago (Ill.) St. Patrick High
Isiah Martin, Indiana State Fr. F 6-8 Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park High
P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton Fr. G 6-3 Las Vegas (Nev.) Brewster (N.H.) Academy
Pieter van Tongeren, Evansville Fr. C 6-9 Driehuis, The Netherlands (Ichthus College HS)
All-Defensive Team (selected by coaches)
PJ Couisnard, Wichita State Sr. G/F 6-4 Houston (Texas) Yates High
Randal Falker, Southern Illinois Sr. F 6-7 St. Louis (Mo.) Gateway Tech
Gabe Moore, Indiana State Sr. G 6-1 Little Rock (Ark.) Mills High
Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois Jr. G 6-2 Downers Grove (Ill.) High
Boo Richardson, Illinois State Sr. G 5-8 Kansas City (Kan.) Wyandotte High
Anthony Slack, Illinois State Sr. F 6-7 New Orleans (La.) John F. Kennedy High