Boston – Western Carolina redshirt junior forward
Mason Faulkner was named to the Lou Henson Award mid-season watch list, it was announced by CollegeInsider.com on Thursday.
The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player.
Faulkner leads the Southern Conference with an average of 18.5 points per game. He ranks second in the SoCon in assists with an average of 6.5 per contests and is among the top 10 in the league in defensive rebounds, steals, minutes played, assist to turnover ratio and 3-point field goals made.
The Glasgow, Ky. native has finished in double figures in 13 of 14 games played and has eclipsed the 20-point mark in six games including a career-high 31 points in an 87-77 win over Chattanooga on Dec. 3. Additionally, Faulkner recorded the first triple-double in WCU's Division I era and quite possibly program history with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 12.
Faulkner, ETSU's Jeromy Rodriguez, Furman's Jordan Lyons, Samford's Josh Sharkey, and UNCG's Isaiah Miller are the only SoCon student-athletes on the list which consists of 50 mid-major players in 22 conferences as well as independents.
The award honors Henson, the former Illinois and New Mexico State coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons. Henson 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 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.
The 2019-20 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award will be announced in April 2020 in Atlanta, GA, site of the men's Division I NCAA Basketball Championship.
Western Carolina returns to the Ramsey Center on Saturday, hosting Mercer at 5 p.m. in the second half of a Catamount hoops doubleheader.
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