Oakland star Townsend wins Lou Henson Player of the Year

Oxford native big man Trey Townsend and the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies became a big story with their run through the Horizon League tournament, into the NCAA tournament.

Townsend was deemed to be the best mid-major player in the nation, winning the 2024 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award, given out annually by CollegeInsider.com.

Townsend averaged 17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Golden Grizzlies, earning Horizon League Player of the Year honors, and Horizon League tournament MVP honors.

OU’s Keith Benson won the first Henson award in 2010.

“Trey Townsend is a big game performer,” said Angela Lento, Vice President of CollegeInsider.com, in the news release for the award. “A lot of players put up good numbers but aren’t clutch when the game is on the line. When Greg Kampe needed a bucket, Trey Townsend got the ball. In a season that produced a lot of wins for Oakland, Trey Townsend made a lot of winning plays. He is the straw that stirs the drink for the Golden Grizzlies.”

The award is named for the longtime coach at Illinois and New Mexico State, who won 775 games in his 41 seasons, leading the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four in 1989, then became one of just 11 coaches to take two different teams to the Final Four, when he took the Lobos there, too. Henson passed away in July, 2020.

The award is determined by a 10-member voting panel of current and former head coaches, along with two staff members from CollegeInsider.com.