Charles Theodore "Tarzan" Cooper was an American professional basketball player and coach who is enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He is best known for his time with the all-Black professional New York Renaissance.
The Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year award is given to the men's basketball player in the Big East Conference voted as the top performer by the conference coaches. It was first awarded at the end of the league's inaugural season of 1979–80.
Marques Kevin Johnson is an American former professional basketball player and character actor who is a basketball analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Bally Sports Wisconsin. He played as a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977 to 1989, where he was a five-time All-Star. He played the majority of his career with the Bucks.
The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was established for men in 1969 and for women in 1984. The men's award was presented to the nation's most outstanding senior who stands 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) or shorter, while the women's award was presented to the top senior who is 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) or shorter. Early in the women's award's history, the cut-off height was 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m). The men's award was selected by a panel from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), while the women's was selected by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The award was discontinued following the 2013–14 season.
The Bob Cousy Award, sponsored by the College of the Holy Cross, is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. It is named after six-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Bob Cousy, who played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963. Cousy won six championships with the Celtics.
The Coca-Cola Classic was a regular season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football game played in Tokyo, Japan, from 1977 to 1993. It was originally sponsored by Mitsubishi and known as the Mirage Bowl, and later sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company and renamed for the soft drink Coca-Cola Classic. Because the game was merely a re-location of a late regular season game, it was not considered a traditional postseason bowl game.
The Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player Award was created to honor the most valuable player of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) men's basketball national tournaments. Established in 1939 and later named as an homage to the Chuck Taylor All-Stars, an iconic basketball shoe in the early 20th century, it has been awarded every year with the exceptions of 1944 due to World War II and 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between the 1991–92 and 2019–20 seasons, the NAIA was split into Division I and Division II. Each division subsequently held their own national tournament, with MVPs awarded for them respectively. Starting with the 2020–21 season, the NAIA returned to non-divisional classifications.
The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. The award has been given since the 1958–59 season to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I coaches, since 1961–62 to Division II, and since 1975–76 to Division III coaches. At the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level it has been awarded since 1992–93, while the two-year schools' coaches have been honored since 1983–84. The award is currently sponsored by the United States Marine Corps.
The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the top men's college basketball player from an NCAA Division I school in the New York metropolitan area. The players on this list who represent modern day non-Division I schools are five players from NYU and one player from CCNY. At the time of their awards, both NYU and CCNY were classified as Division I schools.
The Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Ivy League's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1974–75 season. There have been six players honored on two occasions: Craig Robinson, Kit Mueller, Jerome Allen, Ugonna Onyekwe, Ibrahim Jaaber and Justin Sears. No player has ever won the award three times.
The Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Horizon League's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1979–80 season, the first year of the conference's existence. Seven players have won the award multiple times: Byron Larkin, Brian Grant, Rashad Phillips, Alfredrick Hughes, Keifer Sykes, Loudon Love, and Antoine Davis. Hughes, unlike the other four who each won twice, was awarded the player of the year on three occasions.
The Patriot League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Patriot League's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1990–91 season, the first under the Patriot League name and also the league's first season as an all-sports conference. There have been five repeat winners of the award: Adonal Foyle of Colgate, Brian Ehlers of Lafayette, CJ McCollum of Lehigh, Mike Muscala of Bucknell, and Tim Kempton Jr. of Lehigh. Bucknell claims the most awards (8) while Colgate is second with seven. Bucknell has the most individual players honored with seven.
The West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The award was first given following the conference's inaugural 1952–53 season, when it was known as the California Basketball Association. The only season in which the award was not presented was the conference's second season of 1953–54. There have been six ties in the award's history, most recently in 2022–23 between Brandin Podziemski of Santa Clara and Drew Timme of Gonzaga. There have also been 13 repeat winners, but only one, Bill Cartwright of San Francisco, has been player of the year three times.
The Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Southern Conference's (SoCon) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1951–52 season. Fred Hetzel of Davidson is the only player to have won the award three times (1963–1965). Sixteen other players have won the award twice, most recently done by Isaiah Miller of UNC Greensboro.
The Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Atlantic 10 Conference's (A–10) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the conference's inaugural 1976–77 season, when the conference was officially known as the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League but popularly known as the Eastern 8. David West of Xavier is the only player to have won the award three times (2001–2003). Four other players have won the award twice. Three players have also won the award in the same season that they were named the Naismith College Player of the Year or received the John R. Wooden Award, the nation's two most prestigious men's college basketball awards: Marcus Camby in 1996, Jameer Nelson in 2004, and Obi Toppin in 2020.
The Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award, officially known as the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Most Valuable Player Award, is an annual award given to the Big Sky Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1978–79 season. Only one player, Larry Krystkowiak of Montana, has won the award three times (1984–1986). Three others have been two-time winners: Orlando Lightfoot of Idaho, and Weber State's Harold Arceneaux and Damian Lillard. Weber State has the most all-time awards (12) and individual winners (10). Montana and Eastern Washington are tied for second in total awards with seven apiece.
The Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Missouri Valley Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1968–69 season. It was renamed to honor Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who played at Indiana State from 1977 to 1979 and led the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA Championship game. Bird won every major player of the year award in 1979.
The 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 28, 1980, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 30, 1981, at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Indiana Hoosiers won their fourth NCAA national championship with a 63–50 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate center. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded since 2004, the award was one of four new awards created as part of the inaugural College Basketball Awards show in 2015. It is named after three-time NCAA champion, three-time NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player, and three-time national player of the year Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The inaugural winner was Frank Kaminsky.
Aleah Goodman is an American basketball player. She played college basketball for Oregon State from 2017 to 2021 before briefly playing professionally for the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA. She currently is the Director of Recruiting and Player Development for the Duke Blue Devils women's basketball.
