Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
| Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | The most outstanding male basketball player in the Sun Belt Conference |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Sun Belt Conference |
| First awarded | 1977 |
| Currently held by | Shawn Long, Louisiana–Lafayette |
The Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, officially titled the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, is a basketball award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the Sun Belt Conference. The award was first given following the conference's first basketball season of 1976–77. Four players—Terry Catledge, Chris Gatling, Chico Fletcher, and R. J. Hunter—have been selected twice, while no player has earned a three-time Player of the Year selection.
Through 2016, Western Kentucky, which left the Sun Belt for Conference USA in 2014, has the most all-time winners with seven. Among schools remaining in the Sun Belt beyond 2014, South Alabama, the only charter member that has continuously been in the conference, has the most winners with six. Seven current Sun Belt Conference members have never had a winner, but only two of these schools joined before 2013.
Key
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1904–05 to 1978–79) UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96) Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present) John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present) |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Sun Belt Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
Ervin Johnson won in 1993 as a senior for New Orleans.
Derek Fisher, the 1996 Sun Belt Player of the Year, has won five NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Courtney Lee, currently in the NBA, won the Player of the year award in 2008.
Winners by school
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky (1982)[a 1] | 7 | 1987, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 |
| South Alabama (1976) | 6 | 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1989, 2013 |
| New Orleans (1976)[a 2] | 4 | 1978, 1993, 2002, 2007 |
| Arkansas State (1991) | 3 | 1994†, 1998, 1999 |
| Little Rock (1991) | 3 | 1996, 1997, 2011 |
| Louisiana–Lafayette (1991) | 3 | 1994†, 2010, 2016 |
| Old Dominion (1982)[a 3] | 3 | 1986, 1990, 1991 |
| Charlotte (1976)[a 4] | 2 | 1977, 1988 |
| Georgia State (1976/2013)[a 5] | 2 | 2014, 2015 |
| Louisiana Tech (1991)[a 6] | 2 | 1992, 2000 |
| Denver (1999)[a 7] | 1 | 2005 |
| Jacksonville (1976)[a 8] | 1 | 1980 |
| Middle Tennessee (2001)[a 9] | 1 | 2012 |
| New Mexico State (2001)[a 10] | 1 | 2003 |
| South Florida (1976)[a 11] | 1 | 1983† |
| UAB (1979)[a 12] | 1 | 1982 |
| Virginia Commonwealth (1979)[a 13] | 1 | 1983† |
| Appalachian State (2014) | 0 | — |
| Coastal Carolina (2016) | 0 | — |
| Florida Atlantic (2006)[a 9] | 0 | — |
| FIU (1998)[a 9] | 0 | — |
| Georgia Southern (2014) | 0 | — |
| Louisiana–Monroe (2001) | 0 | — |
| North Texas (2001)[a 9] | 0 | — |
| Texas State (2013) | 0 | — |
| Troy (2005) | 0 | — |
| Texas–Arlington (2013) | 0 | — |
- ↑ Western Kentucky left for Conference USA (C-USA) in 2014.
- ↑ New Orleans left in 1980 but later rejoined in 1991. They left a second time in 2010, planning to transition to NCAA Division II. The Privateers instead chose to remain in Division I, and joined the Southland Conference in 2013.
- ↑ Old Dominion left in 1991 to join the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), and joined C-USA in 2013.
- ↑ Charlotte left in 1991 for the Metro Conference. It became a charter member of C-USA when the Metro merged with the Great Midwest Conference, and still later moved to the Atlantic 10 Conference (A10), by which time it had adopted "Charlotte" as its athletic identity. The 49ers rejoined C-USA in 2013.
- ↑ Georgia State, a charter member of the conference, left in 1981 to become independent. After later having been members of two other conferences, the Panthers rejoined the Sun Belt in 2013.
- ↑ Louisiana Tech left in 2001 to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and joined C-USA in 2013.
- ↑ Denver left in 2012 for the WAC, and moved again in 2013 to The Summit League.
- ↑ Jacksonville left in 1998 for the Trans America Athletic Conference, now known as the Atlantic Sun Conference.
- 1 2 3 4 FIU, Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee, and North Texas all joined C-USA in 2013.
- ↑ New Mexico State left in 2005 to join the WAC.
- ↑ South Florida left in 1991 for the Metro Conference. The Bulls are now in the American Athletic Conference.
- ↑ UAB left in 1991 for the Great Midwest. The Blazers became charter members of C-USA, and have remained there to this day.
- ↑ VCU left in 1991 to join the CAA, and moved from there to the A10 in 2012.
References
- "2007–08 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Sun Belt Conference. p. 102. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
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