Great West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
- Not to be confused with the also-defunct Great Midwest Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year.
| Great West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Great West Conference |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 2010 |
| Last awarded | 2013 |
| Currently held by | Chris Flores, NJIT |
The Great West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was an annual basketball award given to the Great West Conference's (GWC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 2009–10 season, the conference's first as a member of NCAA Division I. The GWC was officially formed on February 25, 2004 as a football-only conference.[1] On July 10, 2008, it was announced that the GWC would change from a football-only conference into an all-sports conference. The following season (2008–09) competition began in a limited number of other sports such as track and field, cross country and golf.[1] Due to massive conference-switching by dozens of Division I schools during the 2010–13 NCAA conference realignment, the Great West Conference officially disbanded on July 1, 2013, after all but New Jersey Institute of Technology departed.[2]
Tyler Cain, a 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) senior power forward from the University of South Dakota, was the first-ever Great West Men's Basketball Player of the Year.[3]
Winners
| Season | Player | School | Position | Class | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Cain, TylerTyler Cain | South Dakota | Power forward | Senior | [3] |
| 2010–11 | Williams, IsiahIsiah Williams | Utah Valley | Point guard | Junior | [4] |
| 2011–12 | Wilkerson, IsaiahIsaiah Wilkerson | NJIT | Small forward / Shooting guard | Senior | [5] |
| 2012–13 | Flores, ChrisChris Flores | NJIT | Point guard / Shooting guard | Senior | [6] |
Winners by school
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| NJIT (2008) | 2 | 2012, 2013 |
| South Dakota[a] (2008) | 1 | 2010 |
| Utah Valley (2008) | 1 | 2011 |
| Chicago State (2008) | 0 | — |
| Houston Baptist (2008) | 0 | — |
| North Dakota[b] (2008) | 0 | — |
| Texas–Pan American (2008) | 0 | — |
Footnotes
- a The University of South Dakota joined The Summit League in 2011–12.[7]
- b The University of North Dakota left after the 2011–12 season for the Big Sky Conference.
References
- 1 2 "About the Great West Conference". GWC History. Great West Conference. 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ↑ "Utah Valley University Claims Fourth Consecutive Great West Conference Commissioner's Cup". Great West Conference. June 27, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- 1 2 "South Dakota's Tyler Cain Leads GWC All–Conference Men's Basketball Team" (Press release). Great West Conference. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ↑ "Utah Valley's Isiah Williams Headlines GWC All-Conference Men's Basketball Team" (Press release). Great West Conference. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ↑ "NJIT's Isaiah Wilkerson Leads Great West All-Conference Men's Basketball Team" (Press release). Great West Conference. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ↑ "Chris Flores Profile". New Jersey Institute of Technology. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ↑ "University of South Dakota Accepts Invitation to Join Summit League" (Press release). The Summit League. 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.