Darren Brooks, a junior from St. Louis, Mo., has been named the Missouri Valley Conference’s Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s coaches and media. Brooks is the first Saluki to earn the league’s highest honor since 1995 (Chris Carr), and he joins Kyle Korver (2001-02) as recent juniors to take Valley Player of the Year plaudits.
In addition to being named Player of the Year, Brooks was tabbed by the league coaches as the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, making him just the third player in league history to sweep both honors. He joins Ashraf Amaya of Southern Illinois (1991-92) and Nate Green of Indiana State (1999-00) as student-athletes who have earned both awards in the same season. (The first year for the Defensive Player of the Year honor was in 1988-89.)
2004 All-MVC Men’s Basketball Team
First Team
Darren Brooks, Southern Illinois
Brody Deren, Creighton
David Gruber, UNI
Jamar Howard, Wichita State
Marcellus Sommerville, Bradley
Player of the Year: Brooks
Second Team
Randy Burns, Wichita State
Clint Cuffle, Evansville
James Gillingham, Bradley
Stetson Hairston, Southern Illinois
Lonnie Randolph, Drake
Honorable-Mention Selections
Marcus Arnold, Illinois State
Nate Funk, Creighton
Trey Guidry, Illinois State
Phillip Gilbert, Bradley
Fridge Holman, Wichita State
Ben Jacobson, UNI
David Moss, Indiana State
Matt Schneiderman, UNI
All-Newcomer Team
Blake Ahearn, SMS
Amani Daanish, Indiana State
Marcellus Sommerville, Bradley
LaMar Owen, Southern Illinois
Erik Crawford, UNI
Newcomer of the Year: Sommerville
All-Freshman Team
Blake Ahearn, SMS
Klayton Korver, Drake
Brooks McKowen, UNI
Bradley Strickland, Evansville
Jamaal Tatum, Southern Illinois
Freshman of the Year: Ahearn
All-Defensive Team (selected by coaches)
Merrill Andrews, SMS
Darren Brooks, Southern Illinois
Stetson Hairston, Southern Illinois
Jamar Howard, Wichita State
James Gillingham, Bradley
Lonnie Randolph, Drake
Defensive MVP: Brooks
Sixth Man of the Year: LaMar Owen, SIU
Earlier this year, Brooks surpassed 1,000 points for his career as he enters this weekend’s tournament games with 1,179 career points. He leads the league in scoring at 16.2 points per game, is a conference best with 2.8 offensive rebounds per game, and also ranks among the league leaders in steals, blocks, and assists.
A three-time MVC Player of the Week selection, Brooks has led SIU to a No. 15 ranking in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls, and the Salukis (24-3, 17-1) have been ranked for a program-best four-straight weeks.
Southwest Missouri State’s Blake Ahearn, a native of St. Louis, Mo., is the league’s Freshman of the Year. He’s the first Bear to receive the honor. Ahearn leads SMS in scoring and leads the nation in free throw shooting. His 97.3 percent (107-of-110) figure is an all-time single-season best in NCAA history. Additionally, Ahearn set a conference record by making 60-straight free throws. His 56 treys is an SMS freshman record as well.
A six-time Newcomer of the Week award winner, Bradley’s Marcellus Sommerville of Peoria, Ill., has been tabbed as the conference’s Newcomer of the Year. Sommerville ranks third in the conference in scoring and led the Valley in rebounding. The sophomore is bidding to become the third sophomore in league history to lead the conference in scoring and rebounding in the same season. Sommerville has hit 49 treys in his first season on the Hilltop, after transferring from Southwestern Illinois College, where he was a first-team NJCAA All-American.
For the eighth-consecutive season, the league's head coaches selected a “Sixth Man Award” recipient, and this season’s honor goes to Southern Illinois' LaMar Owen. The honor is presented to the league's top reserve player. Owen, a junior from Owensboro, Ky., averaged 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds off the bench for the league’s regular-season champion.