Honors Court: Dakota's Daum Next Best Bet to Become 3-Time League MVP
June 27th, 2018 - 7:07
South Dakota State's Mike Daum from the Summit League exhibits every indication he will become the next three-time league player of the year. Daum, averaging 24.5 ppg and 9.2 rpg over the last two campaigns, could become the highest scorer in this rare-air category since La Salle's Lionel Simmons nearly 30 years ago. In an era when so many prominent performers leave college early for the NBA, no player from a power conference has achieved the feat since Kansas' Danny Manning in the Big Eight from 1985-86 through 1987-88. Daum 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. |