University of North Texas Athletics
Tony Mitchell Named Lou Henson Award Finalist
2/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DENTON, Texas – North Texas freshman Tony Mitchell was named a finalist for the 2012 Lou Henson Award, given annually by College Insider to the nation’s top mid-major basketball player.
In league games, Mitchell leads the Sun Belt Conference in scoring (17.4 ppg), rebounding (11.8 rpg), 3-point field goal percentage (53.3 percent) and blocks (3.5 bpg), and he ranks second in field goal percentage (60.2 percent). He is the only freshman in the country averaging a double-double on the year.
Mitchell, one of 25 finalists for the award, is just the second player in league history to earn three straight Sun Belt Player of the Week awards, and he is the NCAA’s first freshman with multiple 30-plus point, 15-plus rebound games since Kansas State’s Michael Beasley in 2007-08.
The Dallas native has recorded five-straight double-double, and has racked up 27 blocks over this five-game span. On the year, Mitchell is averaging a school-record 3.1 blocks per game and already owns the third-best blocks season in NT history (53 blocks).
The Lou Henson Award is in its third year of existence, and is named after Henson, who retired after a 41 year career that made him the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State. He is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four. Butler’s Matt Howard took home the award last year, while Keith Benson from Oakland won in 2009-10.
New for 2012, online fan voting will be considered in the results. Fans can vote for their choice at VoteLouHenson.com. The winner of the 2012 Lou Henson Award will be announced on March 30 in New Orleans, site of the NCAA men’s basketball championship.
