Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
BOSTON – FGCU redshirt senior Brandon Goodwin – the unanimous ASUN Preseason Player of the Year – has been named to the 2017-18 Lou Henson Award Watch List, presented annually to the nation’s top Division-I mid-major player.
Goodwin was selected as a nominee by the Lou Henson Award Committee – a 30-member panel consisting of five current D-I head coaches, five retired head coaches, 10 current athletic directors and/or conference administrators, five members of the national media and five CollegeInsider.com staff members.
Eligible players must in the following conferences or leagues: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic.
A mid-season watch list for the award will be released in January, with the winners announced on March 30 at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet in San Antonio.
“Brandon has proved himself be one of the best player in not only the league, but the nation, and this recognition is certainly well-deserved for him,” commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. “He’s put in so much time and effort to better himself every day, and this is a testament to the work he’s done.”
A UCF transfer, Goodwin made his first season in an FGCU uniform one to remember last year as he set the program’s single-season scoring record with 629 points – the only player to ever eclipse the 600-point mark. The 6-2 point guard led FGCU in scoring (18.5) and assists (4.1), and finished 3rd in rebounding (4.5).
The 18.5 point-per-game average shattered the program’s previous D-I single-season record of 17.1 by Marc-Eddy Norelia in 2015-16, while Goodwin’s 136 made free throws also eclipsed Norelia’s D-I single-season program record of 129 set in ’15-’16.
Goodwin was the unanimous ASUN Newcomer of the Year, was named ASUN Newcomer of the Week a record six times (previous record: 4) and on Feb. 20 he became the first player in league history to be named both ASUN Player of the Week and ASUN Newcomer of the Week. Additionally, he was just the fourth player in program history to be named to the NABC District 3 First Team.
The Norcross, Ga., native was tabbed as the ASUN Tournament MVP after averaging 20 points over three FGCU wins, and continued his brilliant play into the NCAA Tournament with game bests of 28 points and seven assists in the 14th-seeded Eagles’ narrow 86-80 loss to 3rd-seeded Florida State in the First Round.
Goodwin hit three game-winning shots on the year: a floater in the paint at Louisiana Tech with 12 seconds remaining, all three free throws with .6 of a second left at Stetson and a baseline 3-pointer with 34 seconds showing at North Florida. The Norcross High School product scored a season-high 29 points on two occasions, and tallied 28 two other times – including an FGCU ASUN Championship record in the semifinals versus Kennesaw State.
Entering this year, Goodwin was tabbed as a unanimous selection to the ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team. He has started the season with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists as part of a 98-87 FGCU win over Illinois State, the defending co-Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champions. Goodwin followed that performance up with a game-high-tying 16 points and game-best four assists in an 86-53 Eagles’ victory at Siena.
Goodwin and FGCU return to action at Bowling Green on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. The Falcons are 1-1 on the year after opening the season with a 78-69 win at Drexel before falling at home on Monday night to South Dakota, 88-79.
2017-18 LOU HENSON WATCH LIST
Bryce Aiken, Harvard
Ehab Amin, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Trae Bell-Haynes, Vermont
Jarrell Brantley, Charleston
Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon
Bogdan Bliznyuk, Eastern Washington
Joe Chealey, Charleston
Chris Clemons , Campbell
Xavier Cooks, Winthrop
Mike Daum, South Dakota State
Dikembe Dixson, UIC
Nana Foulland , Bucknell
Brandon Goodwin, FGCU
Tyler Hall, Montana State
Jalen Hayes, Oakland
Kevin Hervey, UT Arlington
Ria’n Holland, Mercer
Jordan Howard, Central Arkansas
Alzie Johnson, Missouri State
Tiwian Kendley, Morgan State
John Konchar, Fort Wayne
Anthony Lamb, Vermont
Jock Landale, Saint Mary’s
Austin Luke, Belmont
Jairus Lyles, UMBC
Fletcher Magee, Wofford
Makai Mason, Yale
Garrison Mathews, Lipscomb
Nick Mayo, Eastern Kentucky
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
Chima Moneke, UC Davis
Matt Mooney, South Dakota
Cameron Morse, Youngstown State
Tyler Nelson, Fairfield
David Nicholls, Albany
Kahron Ross, Lehigh
Victor Sanders , Idaho
Jaelan Sanford, Toledo
Devin Sibley, Furman
D’Marcus Simmonds, Georgia State
Ike Smith, Georgia Southern
Jonathan Stark , Murray State
Myles Stephens, Princeton
MaCio Teague, UNC Asheville
Ahmad Thomas, UNC Asheville
Jordon Varnado, Troy
Jaylin Walker, Kent State
Wyatt Walker, Samford
Bryce Washington, Louisiana
Thomas Wilder, Western Michigan
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
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