Honors Court: Kempton and Daum Next Best Bets as Three-Time League MVPs
January 31st, 2017 - 22:19
In 2015-16, Stony Brook's Jameel Warney joining an exclusive list of individuals earning league player of the year acclaim three times in an NCAA Division I conference. But Warney, who averaged 16.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while dominating the America East Conference the previous three seasons, replaced a legend for dubious distinction among this gifted group.
Virginia center Ralph Sampson had posted the lowest scoring average (17.6 ppg from 1980-81 through 1982-83) among the 29 players during spans in the previous 50-plus years when they captured three or four MVP awards in a DI conference. Sampson's average was 26.6 ppg lower than LSU guard Pete Maravich's NCAA-record mark (44.2 from 1967-68 through 1969-70).
No player from a power conference has achieved the feat since Kansas' Danny Manning in the Big Eight from 1985-86 through 1987-88. This season and next, Lehigh's Tim Kempton from the Patriot League and North Dakota State's Mike Daum from the Summit League could join the following chronological list of standouts who became player of the year in a DI league three or four seasons since the early 1960s:
| Player | Pos. | School | Conference (MVP Seasons) | League MVP Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Lucas | C | Ohio State | Big Ten (1960 through 1962) | Averaged 24.3 ppg and 17.2 rpg while shooting 62.4% from the floor over three-year span. |
| Fred Hetzel | F-C | Davidson | Southern (1963 through 1965) | Averaged 25.7 ppg and 13.8 rpg while shooting 55.4% from the floor over three-year span. |
| Clem Haskins | G-F | Western Kentucky | Ohio Valley (1965 through 1967) | Averaged 22.1 ppg and 10.6 rpg over three-year span. |
| Pete Maravich | G | Louisiana State | Southeastern (1968 through 1970) | Averaged 44.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 5.1 apg over three-year span. |
| Gene Phillips | F | Southern Methodist | Southwest (1969 through 1971) | Averaged 26.1 ppg and 7.5 rpg while shooting 81.7% from the free-throw line over three-year span. |
| David Thompson | F | North Carolina State | Atlantic Coast (1973 through 1975) | Averaged 26.8 ppg and 8.1 rpg while shooting 55.3% from the floor over three-year span. |
| Bernard King | F | Tennessee | Southeastern (1975 through 1977) | Averaged 25.8 ppg and 13.2 rpg while shooting 59% from the floor over three-year span. |
| Bill Cartwright | C | San Francisco | West Coast (1977 through 1979) | Averaged 21.5 ppg and 11.5 rpg while shooting 60.4% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Michael Brooks | F | La Salle | East Coast (1978 through 1980) | Averaged 24.1 ppg and 12.5 rpg while shooting 55.4% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Harry Kelly | F | Texas Southern | Southwestern Athletic (1980 through 1983) | Averaged 27.9 ppg and 9.9 rpg over four-year span. |
| Ralph Sampson | C | Virginia | Atlantic Coast (1981 through 1983) | Averaged 17.6 ppg, 11.5 rpg and 3.1 bpg while shooting 57.5% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Joe Binion | F | North Carolina A&T | Mid-Eastern Athletic (1982 through 1984) | Averaged 19.8 ppg and 10.8 rpg while shooting 50.9% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Willie Jackson | F | Centenary | Trans America Athletic (1982 through 1984) | Averaged 23.9 ppg and 9.2 rpg over three-year MVP span. |
| Alfredrick Hughes | F | Loyola (Ill.) | Midwestern Collegiate (1983 through 1985) | Averaged 26.5 ppg and 8.8 rpg over three-year MVP span. |
| Chris Mullin | G-F | St. John's | Big East (1983 through 1985) | Averaged 20.4 ppg and 4.3 rpg while shooting 55.4% from the floor and 86.5% from the free-throw line over three-year MVP span. |
| Wayman Tisdale | C | Oklahoma | Big Eight (1983 through 1985) | Averaged 25.6 ppg and 10.1 rpg while shooting 57.8% from the floor over three-year span. |
| Larry Krystkowiak | F | Montana | Big Sky (1984 through 1986) | Averaged 20.4 ppg and 10.7 rpg while shooting 57.1% from the floor and 80.1% from the free-throw line over three-year MVP span. |
| Reggie Lewis | F | Northeastern | ECAC North Atlantic (1985 through 1987) | Averaged 23.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg over three-year MVP span. |
| David Robinson | C | Navy | Colonial Athletic (1985 through 1987) | Averaged 24.8 ppg, 12.2 rpg and 4.8 bpg while shooting 61.2% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Danny Manning | F | Kansas | Big Eight (1986 through 1988) | Averaged 21.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg while shooting 59.9% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Lionel Simmons | F | La Salle | Metro Atlantic Athletic (1988 through 1990) | Averaged 26 ppg and 11.3 rpg over three-year MVP span. |
| Clarence Weatherspoon | F | Southern Mississippi | Metro (1990 through 1992) | Averaged 19.3 ppg and 10.3 rpg while shooting 58.4% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Tony Dunkin | F | Coastal Carolina | Big South (1990 through 1993) | Averaged 20.7 ppg and 7 rpg while shooting 52.2% from the floor and 41.2% from beyond the three-point arc over four-year span. |
| Gary Trent | F | Ohio University | Mid-American (1993 through 1995) | Averaged 22.7 ppg and 11.3 rpg while shooting 57.3% from the floor over three-year span. |
| Keith Van Horn | F | Utah | Western Athletic (1995 through 1997) | Averaged 21.5 ppg and 8.9 rpg while shooting 52.4% from the floor and 87% from the free-throw line over three-year MVP span. |
| George Evans | F | George Mason | Colonial Athletic (1999 through 2001) | Averaged 17.9 ppg and 8.3 rpg while shooting 58.4% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| David West | F-C | Xavier | Atlantic 10 (2001 through 2003) | Averaged 18.8 ppg and 10.8 rpg while shooting 53.1% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Taylor Coppenrath | F | Vermont | America East (2003 through 2005) | Averaged 23.1 ppg and 7.5 rpg over three-year MVP span. |
| Nick Fazekas | F | Nevada | Western Athletic (2005 through 2007) | Averaged 21 ppg and 10.3 rpg while shooting 53.2% from the floor and 82.3% from the free-throw line over three-year MVP span. |
| Caleb Green | F | Oral Roberts | Mid-Continent (2005 through 2007) | Averaged 20.2 ppg and 9.1 rpg while shooting 52.6% from the floor over three-year MVP span. |
| Jameel Warney | F-C | Stony Brook | America East (2014 through 2016) | Averaged 16.9 ppg and 10.2 rpg over three-year MVP span. |