Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Great Midwest Conference |
---|---|
Country | United States |
History | |
First award | 1992 |
Final award | 1995 |
The Great Midwest Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was a basketball award given to the Great Midwest Conference's most outstanding player. The award was short-lived and only handed out from 1992 to 1995. Four recipients received the award, but only Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway won more than once. Hardaway was the award's first and second player of the year recipient honoree.
The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I conference that existed from 1991–92 to 1994–95. It was formed in 1990 with six members: Cincinnati and Memphis State (now Memphis) from the Metro Conference; UAB from the Sun Belt Conference; Marquette and Saint Louis from the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now the Horizon League), and independent DePaul. Dayton joined in 1993.
In 1995, reunification with the Metro Conference and teams from the Southwest Conference formed Conference USA.
Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Great Midwest Player of the Year award |
Season | Player | School | Position | Class | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991–92 | Penny Hardaway | Memphis | G/SF | Sophomore | [1] |
1992–93 | Penny Hardaway (2) | Memphis | G/SF | Junior | [1] |
1993–94 | Jim McIlvaine | Marquette | C | Senior | [2] |
1994–95 | Tom Kleinschmidt | DePaul | SG/SF | Senior | [3] |
School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
---|---|---|
Memphis State (1991) | 2 | 1992, 1993 |
Marquette (1991) | 1 | 1994 |
DePaul (1991) | 1 | 1995 |
Cincinnati (1991) | 0 | — |
Saint Louis (1991) | 0 | — |
UAB (1991) | 0 | — |
Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway played college basketball at Memphis and 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a four-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA First Team member.
The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic Conference, except for the rifle team, which is a member of the single-sport Great America Rifle Conference.
The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, and Jamal Mashburn were All-Stars whose careers were cut short by injuries. Isaiah Rider and Vin Baker showed great potential but were plagued by personal problems. Bobby Hurley's career was derailed by a car wreck in December of his rookie year. The mid-to-late first round was littered with players that failed to make any significant impact, with the exception of three-time NBA champion Sam Cassell. One of the NBA best all-time wing defensive players, three-time champion Bruce Bowen, went undrafted.
The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did not follow that pattern. The conference was centered in the Upper South with some strength in the Deep South. The conference never sponsored football, although most of its members throughout its history had Division I-A football programs. In 1995, it merged with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA. The merger was driven mainly by football, as several Metro Conference members had been successfully lured to larger conferences that sponsored the sport.
The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I athletics conference that existed from 1991 to 1995.
The 1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. A total of 63 games were played.
The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represents the University of Memphis in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The Tigers have competed in the American Athletic Conference since 2013. As of 2020, the Tigers had the 26th highest winning percentage in NCAA history. While the Tigers have an on-campus arena, Elma Roane Fieldhouse, the team has played home games off campus since the mid-1960s. The Tigers moved to the Mid-South Coliseum at the Memphis Fairgrounds in 1966, and then to downtown Memphis at The Pyramid, initially built for the team in 1991 and later home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. In 2004, both teams moved to a new downtown venue, FedExForum. ESPN Stats and Information Department ranked Memphis as the 19th most successful basketball program from 1962 to 2012 in their annual 50 in 50 list.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Houston Rockets' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston. The Rockets had the 24th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected Sam Cassell out of Florida State University. During the off-season, the team acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers. The Rockets went off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games of the season to tie the 1948–49 Washington Capitols for the best unbeaten record to open a season, while also posting a 14–0 record in November, before the Golden State Warriors surpassed it in 2015. After losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 133–111 on the road on December 3, the Rockets won their next seven games as well, falling just one victory shy of tying the 1969–70 Knicks (23–1) for the best record with one defeat in NBA history. However, the Rockets would cool off as the season progressed, at one point losing four games in a row in January. Still, they held a 34–12 record at the All-Star break, and finished first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record, a franchise record that stood until the 2017-18 team recorded their 59th win.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Magic's fifth season in the National Basketball Association. The team narrowly missed the playoffs the previous season, but as a result, received unexpected good fortune. Despite having the worst odds, the Magic won the NBA draft lottery for the second consecutive season. The Magic drafted Chris Webber from the University of Michigan with the first overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft. They would eventually swap Webber to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the rights to University of Memphis guard Penny Hardaway and three future first-round picks.
The Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was a basketball award given to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic (Metro) Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1976–77 season and was discontinued after the 1994–95 season. In 1995 the Metro Conference merged with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA.
The Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual college basketball award given to the Big South Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1985–86 season, the first year the league conducted basketball competition.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Warriors' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 31st in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the 1993 NBA draft, the Warriors selected Penny Hardaway from the University of Memphis with the third overall pick, but soon traded him to the Orlando Magic in exchange for top draft pick Chris Webber from the University of Michigan. During the off-season, the team signed free agent Avery Johnson. Without All-Star guard Tim Hardaway and sixth man Šarūnas Marčiulionis, who both missed the entire season with knee injuries, and with Chris Mullin missing the first 20 games with a finger injury, the Warriors struggled losing three of their first four games, but soon recovered later holding a 27–20 record at the All-Star break. The team improved over the previous season as they posted an 8-game winning streak in April, finishing third in the Pacific Division with a solid 50–32 record.
The 2017–18 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the 97th season of Tiger basketball, the second under head coach Tubby Smith, and the fifth as members of the American Athletic Conference. They played their home games at the FedEx Forum. They finished the season 21–13, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Tulsa in the AAC tournament before losing to Cincinnati in the semifinals.
The 2018–19 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the 98th season of Tiger basketball, the first under head coach Penny Hardaway, and the sixth as members of the American Athletic Conference. They played their home games at the FedEx Forum. They finished the season 22–14, 11–7 in AAC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Tulane and UCF to advance to the semifinals of the AAC tournament where they lost to Houston. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated San Diego in the first round before losing in the second round to Creighton.
James Monteinez Wiseman is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers. Listed at 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m), he plays the center position.
The 2019–20 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the 99th season of Tiger basketball, the second under head coach Penny Hardaway, and the seventh as members of the American Athletic Conference. They played their home games at the FedEx Forum.
The Cincinnati–Memphis rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Memphis Tigers. The rivalry between these two schools dates to their first college football game in 1966, and has continued across all sports, with the men's basketball series gaining attention as well, having started in 1968. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of five conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference, Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA, and more recently in the American Athletic Conference.
The 1991–92 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team represented Memphis State University as a member of the Great Midwest Conference during the 1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers were led by head coach Larry Finch and played their home games at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 2021–22 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers were led by fourth-year head coach Penny Hardaway. The team played their home games at FedExForum as members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 22–11, 13–5 in AAC Play to finish in 3rd place. They defeated UCF and SMU to advance to the championship game of the AAC tournament where they lost to Houston. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the West Region, where they defeated Boise State in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Gonzaga.
The 1992–93 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team represented Memphis State University as a member of the Great Midwest Conference during the 1992–93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers were led by head coach Larry Finch and played their home games at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee.