Mid-Major Coach of the Year

>>> Martelli named Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year

Southern Illinois' Matt Painter and High Point's Bart Lundy would have been excellent choices for Mid-Major Coach of the Year, but the 2004 honors go to Buffalo's Reggie Witherspoon.

Witherspoon's Bulls had struggled in his first four seasons, averaging six wins per season. Given the unenviable task of picking up the pieces, after NCAA sanctions, Witherspoon has taken Buffalo to new heights in 2003-04.

The Bulls first got a little attention back in December when they cracked the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 for the first time in school history. It would prove to be just the start of "firsts" for Witherspoon and company.

After starting the season 0-3, it appeared that Buffalo was headed for another tough season, but on Dec. 13, the Bulls won at Niagara for their fourth straight win. That streak would run to five straight, but the Bulls then proceeded to lose six straight.

Buffalo found themselves 0-5 in the Mid-American Conference and going nowhere fast.

But all that changed on Jan. 25, as the Bulls won at Northern Illinois. It was the start of a run in the MAC that would see Buffalo win 11-of-13, highlighted by a 16-point win at then No. 4 ranked Kent State.

Witherspoon's club finished the regular season with a seven-game winning streak.

The eleven conference wins almost equal the total of the previous four seasons combined. The Bulls eight road wins are the best in school history and the third place finish (MAC West) is nothing less then remarkable.

When Witherspoon took over five years ago, few gave him much of chance to succeed. Five years later he is the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Coach of the Year.

Rookie Coach of the Year

There were a lot of viable candidates, but it's hard to argue with the job turned in by High Point rookie mentor Bart Lundy. Last season the Panthers finished 7-20 (3-11 in the Big South). A year later, Lundy had them one game away from the NCAA tournament. The Panthers finished third in the Big South (10-6) and posted an overall record of 19-11 and can boast the league's player of the year in Danny Gathings.

National Player of the Year

Four years ago he was the CollegeInsider.com national freshman of the year. Now he concludes his college career with national player of the year honors. All he did was pilot the Hawks to a perfect 27-0 regular season. Jameer Nelson's value cannot be measured in stats alone, but it is difficult to overlook 20 points and five assists per game.

National Most Valuable Player

Like Nelson, Duke's Chris Duhon is not going to wow anyone with his stat line, but watch one Blue Devil game and you'll understand why he should be a consensus All-America selection. Simply put, he has done it all for Mike Krzyzewski in his four years at Duke.

Mid-Major Player of the Year

If not for Duhon, you could make a strong case for Blake Stepp being named National Most Valuable Player. Gonzaga is loaded with talent, but they would not be vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament if not for Stepp. He might just be the best guard to ever play at Gonzaga.

Mid-Major Most Valuable Player

Like a true MVP, stats will not tell you why Utah State's Mark Brown is MVP material. The Big West's top assist man has a knack for making big plays when it matters most. He is the epitome of the term winner.

National Freshman of the Year

There were many excellent choices, but Wake Forest's Chris Paul gets the nod. The Demon Deacons would not be in the NCAA tournament hunt without this rookie point man.

Mid-Major Freshman of the Year

For the first time in Mid-Continent Conference history, freshmen teammates were named first-team All-Conference. Along with Caleb Green, star freshman Ken Tutt helped Oral Roberts break into the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 this season. Tutt led ORU in scoring (20.7 ppg) and set a school record with 96 3-point baskets. He is the Mid-Major Freshman of the Year.

All-America Team

Tony Allen (Oklahoma State)
Timmy Bowers (Mississippi State)
Antonio Burks (Memphis)
Chris Duhon (Duke)
Andre Emmett (Texas Tech)
Ryan Gomes (Providence)
Devin Harris (Wisconsin)
Chris Hernandez (Stanford)
Julius Hodge (North Carolina State)
Luke Jackson (Oregon)
Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's)
Emeka Okafor (Connecticut)
Lawrence Roberts (Mississippi State)
Blake Stepp (Gonzaga)
Hakim Warrick (Syracuse)
Delonte West (St. Joseph's)

Mid-Major All-America Team

Jose Juan Barea (Northeastern)
Darren Brooks (Southern Illinois)
Mark Brown (Utah State)
Keydren Clark (St. Peter's)
Taylor Coppenrath (Vermont)
Luis Flores (Manhattan)
Adam Hess (William & Mary)
Domonic Jones (Virginia Commonwealth)
Kevin Martin (Western Carolina)
Dylan Page (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Ben Reed (Western Michigan)
Timmy Smith (East Tennessee State)
Blake Stepp (Gonzaga)
Ronny Turiaf (Gonzaga)
Zakee Wadood (East Tennessee State)
Martell Bailey (Illinois-Chicago)

All-Freshmen Team

Sean Banks (Memphis)
Larry Blair (Liberty)
Andrew Bogut (Utah)
Brandon Bass (LSU)
Luol Deng (Duke)
Brandon Heath (San Diego State)
Kris Humphries (Minnesota)
Jared Jordan (Marist)
Drew Lavender (Oklahoma)
Paul Millsap (Louisiana Tech)
Adam Morrison (Gonzaga)
Chris Paul (Wake Forest)
Mustafa Shakur (Arizona)
Chris Taft (Pittsburgh)
P.J. Tucker (Texas)
Ken Tutt (Oral Roberts)

Conference Honors

AMERICA EAST
Coach: Ron Everhart (Northeastern)
MVP: Taylor Coppenrath (Vermont)

ATLANTIC COAST
Coach: Herb Sendek (North Carolina State)
MVP: Chris Duhon (Duke)

ATLANTIC SUN
Coach: Kirk Speraw (Central Florida)
MVP: Greg Davis (Troy State)

ATLANTIC 10
Coach: Phil Martelli (St. Joseph's)
MVP: Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's)

BIG EAST
Coach: Gary Waters (Rutgers)
MVP: Emeka Okafor (Connecticut)

BIG SKY
Coach: Ray Giacoletti (Eastern Washington)
MVP: Alvin Snow (Eastern Washington)

BIG SOUTH
Coach: Bart Lundy (High Point)
MVP: Danny Gathings (High Point)

BIG TEN
Coach: Bill Carmody (Northwestern)
MVP: Devin Harris (Wisconsin)

BIG 12
Coach: Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State)
MVP: Tony Allen (Oklahoma State)

BIG WEST
Coach: Bob Thomason (Pacific)
MVP: Mark Brown (Utah State)

COLONIAL
Coach: Blaine Taylor (Old Dominion)
MVP: Domonic Jones (Virginia Commonwealth)

CONFERENCE USA
Coach: Dave Leitao (DePaul)
MVP: Antonio Burks (Memphis)

HORIZON
Coach: Tod Kowalczyk (Wisconsin-Green Bay)
MVP: Dylan Page (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

INDEPENDENTS
Coach: Bob Hoffman (Texas-Pan American)
MVP: Brian Evans (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

IVY LEAGUE
Coach: Glen Miller (Brown)
MVP: Jeff Schiffner (Pennsylvania)

METRO ATLANTIC
Coach: Bob Leckie (St. Peter's)
MVP: Luis Flores (Manhattan)

MID-AMERICAN
Coach: Reggie Witherspoon (Buffalo)
MVP: Ben Reed (Western Michigan)

MID-CONTINENT
Coach: Kevin Jones (Chicago State)
MVP: Odell Bradley (IUPUI)

MID-EASTERN
Coach: Fang Mitchell (Coppin State)
MVP: Thurman Zimmerman (South Carolina State)

MISSOURI VALLEY
Coach: Matt Painter (Southern Illinois)
MVP: Darren Brooks (Southern Illinois)

MOUNTAIN WEST
Coach: Joe Scott (Air Force)
MVP: Rafael Araujo (BYU)

NORTHEAST
Coach: Tom Green (Fairleigh Dickinson)
MVP: Ron Robinson (Central Connecticut State)

OHIO VALLEY
Coach: Dave Loss (Austin Peay)
MVP: Cuthbert Victor (Murray State)

PACIFIC-10
Coach: Mike Montgomery (Stanford)
MVP: Chris Hernandez (Stanford)

PATRIOT
Coach: Billy Taylor (Lehigh)
MVP: Austen Rowland (Lehigh)

SOUTHEASTERN
Coach: Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt)
MVP: Timmy Bowers (Mississippi State)

SOUTHERN
Coach: Bob McKillop (Davidson)
MVP: Timmy Smith (East Tennessee State)

SOUTHLAND
Coach: Billy Kennedy (Southeastern Louisiana)
MVP: LeRoy Hurd (Texas-San Antonio)

SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC
Coach: Lafayette Stribling (Mississippi Valley State)
MVP: Attarrius Norwood (Mississippi Valley State)

SUN BELT
Coach: Jessie Evans (Louisiana-Lafayette)
MVP: Brad Boyd (Louisiana-Lafayette)

WEST COAST
Coach: Randy Bennett (St. Mary's)
MVP: Blake Stepp (Gonzaga)

WESTERN ATHLETIC
Coach: Greg Graham (Boise State)
MVP: Jason McKrieth (Rice)