BOSTON, Mass. – Bennett Stirtz, the Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year, has been selected as a finalist for the Lou Henson Award, collegeinsider.com announced on Thursday. The award is presented annually to the top player in mid-major in college basketball.
The junior from Liberty, Missouri, has displayed his outstanding play all season long leading the MVC in points (631 – 19.1 ppg), assists (188 – 5.7 apg) and steals (71 – 2.2 spg). Stirtz also leads the country in minutes played per game at 39.2. This past week, Stirtz led Drake to the MVC Tournament Championship, where he was named the Doug Elgin Award winner as Most Outstanding Player, earning the Bulldogs a bid to the NCAA Tournament.