March 4, 2008

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - For the fifth time in the last seven seasons, a Saluki men's basketball player has won the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year award.

The league announced Tuesday that junior guard Bryan Mullins has won the the distinction in 2008, following in the footsteps of Rolan Roberts (2002), Darren Brooks (2004, 2005) and Randal Falker (2007). Mullins ranks second in the league in steals with 2.1 per game.

Both Falker and Mullins were also named to the all-conference and all-defense teams. Falker was a first-team all-league pick for the second-straight year, after he led Southern in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg). Mullins was a second-team all-conference selection and averaged 11.0 ppg and 5.1 apg.

Drake senior guard Adam Emmenecker was named the 2008 Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year. Emmenecker set the Drake single-season assist mark at 177, bettering the previous record of 174 set by Al Stewart last year. His 6.10 per game average led the Valley. Perhaps the most improbable MVC Player of the Year (based on pre-season expectations) in league history, Emmenecker entered the season with 64 career assists and 57 total points in his three previous seasons at Drake, which featured 58 games and two starts.

The league's Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year is P'Allen Stinnett. In his first year at Creighton,he led the Bluejays in scoring with a 12.2 points per game average.The "Sixth Man Award" recipient is Creighton's Booker Woodfox. Woodfox did not start any of Creighton's games, yet was one of the Bluejays' top scorers, averaging 9.1 points, and led the team with 46 treys.

2008 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Team
First Team Jeremy Crouch, Bradley Sr. G
Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State So. G
Adam Emmenecker, Drake Sr. G
Randal Falker, Southern Illinois Sr. F
Josh Young, Drake So. G 6-1

Second Team Eric Coleman, Northern Iowa Sr. C
Jonathan Cox, Drake Jr. F
Leonard Houston, Drake Sr. G
Deven Mitchell, Missouri State Sr. F
Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois Jr. G

Honorable-Mention Selections
Shy Ely, Evansville Jr. F/G
Gabe Moore, Indiana State Sr. G
Daniel Ruffin, Bradley Sr. G
Anthony Slack, Illinois State Sr. F
P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton Fr. G

All-Newcomer Team
Ramon Clemente, Wichita State Jr. F
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley Fr. G
P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton Fr. G
Theron Wilson, Bradley Jr. G
Booker Woodfox, Creighton Jr.

All-Freshman Team
J.T. Durley, Wichita State Fr. F
Kenny Lawson Jr., Creighton Fr. C
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley Fr. G
Isiah Martin, Indiana State Fr. F
P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton Fr. G
Pieter van Tongeren, Evansville Fr. C

All-Defensive Team (selected by coaches)
PJ Couisnard, Wichita State Sr. G/F
Randal Falker, Southern Illinois Sr. F
Gabe Moore, Indiana State Sr. G
Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois Jr. G
Boo Richardson, Illinois State Sr. G
Anthony Slack, Illinois State Sr. F

All-Bench Team (selected by beat writers)
TBA (March 5)

Most-Improved Team (selected by beat writers)
TBA (March 5)