LOU HENSON AWARD OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

BOSTON, Mass. (March 13, 2025) – ETSU men's basketball player Quimari Peterson was named a finalist for the Lou Henson Award on Thursday afternoon. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball.
 
Peterson is coming off one of the best seasons in program history in 2024-25. The Gary, Indiana native ranks 22nd in made field goals (225), 23rd in three-point field goal percentage (42.2), 24th in the nation in total points (625), 27th in points per game (19.5), 29th in steals (65), and 38th in steals per game (2.03), leading the SoCon in all but one of those seven categories. Peterson was the league's leading scorer in conference play by a decisive margin, scoring 20.0 points per game against SoCon opponents, nearly two full points per game more than the next-closest player.
 
Peterson is the tenth Buccaneer to score 600 points in a season and the first since T.J. Cromer in 2017, becoming the seventh Buccaneer to score 1,000 points in his first two seasons with the program in the process. For his efforts all season long, Peterson was named the Malcolm U. Pitt SoCon Player of the Year. Peterson is the first Buccaneer to be named the League's Player of the Year since Desonta Bradford in 2018.
 
ABOUT THE LOU HENSON AWARD
The Lou Henson award honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.

Coach Henson is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989.

Henson, who is also the all-time winningest coach in New Mexico State history with 289 victories, is one of only 11 coaches to take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four. His teams made 19 NCAA appearances and four NIT appearances.

Coach Henson passed away on July 25, 2020.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
 
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.