Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell was an American college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson College, the University of Maryland, James Madison University, and Georgia State University. He earned a reputation as "the greatest program builder in the history of basketball." At the time of his retirement in 2003, he was the fourth-winningest NCAA Division I men's basketball college coach, with 21 seasons of 20 or more wins, and 21 conference or conference tournament titles. Driesell played college basketball at Duke University.
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 Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the most outstanding player in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The school with the most SEC Player of the Year award winners is Kentucky, with 18 total awards. The only current SEC members that have never had a winner are Missouri and Texas A&M, the conference's two newest members.
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 Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was an award given to the Pac-12 Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1975–76 season, when the conference was known as the Pacific-8, and is determined by voting from the Pac-12 media and coaches. There have been two players honored multiple times: David Greenwood of UCLA and Sean Elliott of Arizona. Four freshmen have also won the award: Shareef Abdur-Rahim of California, Kevin Love of UCLA, Deandre Ayton of Arizona and Evan Mobley of USC.
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 Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Mountain West Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1999–2000 season, the first year of the conference's existence. As of 2023, no player has received the award multiple times. Two winners of the conference award were consensus national players of the year: Andrew Bogut of Utah (2005) and Jimmer Fredette of BYU (2011).
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 Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The award was first given following the 1967–68 season. Four players have won the award multiple times: Tom Kozelko, Ron Harper, Gary Trent and Bonzi Wells. Trent is the only player to have been honored as player of the year three times (1993–95). There have been no ties, nor has any player from the MAC ever won any of the national player of the year awards.
The Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Northeast Conference's (NEC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1982–83 season, when the league was known as the ECAC Metro Conference.
The Summit League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the Summit League. The award was first given following the 1982–83 season. Two players, Caleb Green of Oral Roberts and Mike Daum of South Dakota State, have each won the award three times. Five other players have won the award twice: Jon Collins of Eastern Illinois, Tony Bennett of Green Bay, Bryce Drew of Valparaiso, Keith Benson of Oakland, and Max Abmas of Oral Roberts.
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 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's (MEAC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1971–72 season. There has never been a tie for co-player of the year in the award's history, nor has there been a national player of the year. Two players have been named the MEAC Player of the Year three times: Marvin Webster of Morgan State (1973–75) and Joe Binion of North Carolina A&T (1982–84). The school with the most all-time honorees is North Carolina A&T, now a member of the Big South Conference, which has had nine winners, but its last award before its 2021 departure was in 1988. Among current members, Coppin State and Norfolk State have the most recipients with eight each. The only current member of the MEAC without a winner is Maryland Eastern Shore.
The American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the American Athletic Conference's most outstanding player. The conference formed in 2013–14 after many schools departed from the original Big East Conference to form their own conference. Shabazz Napier of UConn was the first-ever winner.
The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. 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 Karl Malone, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who played the position. The inaugural winner was Montrezl Harrell of Louisville.
Sporting News began awarding a National Football League (NFL) player of the year award in 1954. From 1970 to 1979, Sporting News chose American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC) players of the year, and returned to a single winner in 1980. Beginning in 2008 Sporting News chose an offensive player of the year and a defensive player of the year.
Leroy Jevon Carter is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers. A point guard for the Mountaineers, Carter was known as one of the top defensive players in college basketball, winning the NABC Defensive Player of the Year and the Lefty Driesell Award after both his junior and senior seasons, and winning the inaugural Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in his final season.
Davion De'Monte Earl Mitchell is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers and the Baylor Bears. He was taken ninth overall in the 2021 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.
Caleb McConnell is an American basketball player for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, where he played in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, became the team's steals leader at the first round of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament and won the Reese's College All-Star Game with the West. He ended that year with 221 steals and 972 points.
