Jenkins named OVC Player of the Year, Sutton picked as Coach of the Year
Senior forward Willie Jenkins lived up to his preseason billing, earning the 2004-05 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball Player of the Year award in voting by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. TTU head coach Mike Sutton was also named the OVC Coach of the Year, giving the Golden Eagles two of the three post-season honors.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Senior forward Willie Jenkins lived up to
his preseason billing, earning the 2004-05 Ohio Valley Conference
men's basketball Player of the Year award in voting by the league's
head coaches and sports information directors. TTU head coach
Mike
Sutton was also named the OVC Coach of the Year, giving the
Golden Eagles two of the three post-season honors.
Both Jenkins and Sutton hope to continue their regular season success into the post-season when the Golden Eagles face Austin Peay in the 2005 O'Reilly OVC Men's Basketball Tournament semi-finals on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Nashville. It will be the third meeting of the season between the two in-state rivals, as each team won on its home floor during the regular season.
Coming off an impressive OVC debut in 2003-04 for which he received
OVC Newcomer of the Year accolades, Jenkins entered the 2004-05
campaign as the overwhelming favorite for preseason OVC Player of
the Year.
"It's a great honor for Willie, and I'm very proud of him," said Sutton. "He has worked extremely hard, and is very deserving. He has been one of our leaders this season, and he has showed that if you work hard, good things will happen."
Jenkins' success from a year ago carried over to the 2004-05 campaign as he helped lead Tennessee Tech to its third OVC regular-season title in five years as the Golden Eagles captured the title with a 12-4 record in league play.
"The award is something that I'm very honored to be chosen for," said Jenkins. "I couldn't have done it without my coaches and teammates."
The 6-foot-6 forward is among the league leaders in seven statistical categories and has collected five double-doubles over the course of the year, ranking second in the OVC in scoring (19.6 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (6.8 rpg). He is among the league's top perimenter threats, ranking eighth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (39.0), while sporting the league's sixth-best overall field goal shooting percentage (46.2). A two-time first team All-OVC pick, Jenkins is also tied for seventh in the conference in steals (49) and ranks eighth in free throw shooting percentage (76.2). A native of Memphis, Tenn., Jenkins has topped the 30-point mark on three occasions in 2004-05 while scoring in double figures in 22 of 28 outings, including a current stretch of nine straight games.
He becomes just the second Golden Eagle to receive OVC Player of the Year honors, following former Tech standout Stephen Kite, who earned the award in 1984-85.
Sutton picks up his first OVC Coach of the Year award after guiding Tech to a 12-4 conference record, en route to its seventh OVC regular-season title. Tech's defensive and rebounding efforts have helped propel the Golden Eagles to success as the squad leads the league in defending the shot (43.2%), while boasting the OVC's best rebounding margin (+5.1).
"It's nice to be recognized by your peers," said Sutton. "There are a lot of great coaches in this league. It's also a credit to our entire team, and the whole coaching staff."
Tech reeled off seven straight victories to start league play, and finished the regular season by winning its last four games. The Golden Eagles also finished the season with a perfect 13-0 record at home.
Tech defeated APSU 74-59 on Feb. 22, giving them at least a share of the OVC title at the time, a feat they would go on to capture outright. APSU features second team All-OVC guard Anthony Davis, a senior who scored 20 points in the Govs 79-77 overtime victory over TTU on Jan. 25 in Clarksville.
2004-05 ALL-OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS
OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS
(as voted on by the league's head basketball coaches and sports information directors)
FIRST TEAM
null
Willie Jenkins, Tennessee Tech* F 6'6 210 Sr., Memphis,
Tennessee
Dainmon Gonner, Southeast Missouri F 6'6 230 Sr., Ft. Worth,
Texas
Michael Haney, Eastern Kentucky F 6'6 221 Sr., Madisonville,
Kentucky
Trey Pearson, Murray State G 6'2 180 So., South Fulton,
Tennessee
J. Robert Merritt, Samford F 6'6 215 Jr., Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma
SECOND TEAM
Anthony Davis, Austin Peay% G 6'2 205 Sr.,
Inglewood, California
Reggie Golson, Southeast Missouri F 6'7 195 Sr., Kansas City,
Kansas
Josh Gomes, Eastern Illinois G 6'3 180 Jr. Indianapolis,
Indiana
Walker Russell, Jacksonville State G 6'0 170 Jr. Rochester,
Michigan
Chad McKnight, Morehead State F 6'7 215 Sr. Lancaster, Ohio
OVC
Player of the
Year: Willie
Jenkins, Tennessee Tech
OVC Coach of the Year:
Mike
Sutton, Tennessee
Tech
OVC Freshman of the
Year: George Tandy, Eastern
Illinois
*
All-OVC 1st Team in 2003-04
# All-OVC 2nd Team in 2003-04
% All-OVC 3rd Team in
2003-04
