Seth Tuttle Highlights 2014-15 All-Missouri Valley

The 2015 MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year is senior Seth Tuttle of UNI. Tuttle, the MVC's active leader in both scoring and rebounding, has helped the Panthers to a 27-3 overall record and No. 11 national rank. He's the third different Panther to earn the league's Player of the Year award, joining Jason Daisy (1997) and Adam Koch (2010).

 He received 38 of a possible 47 first-place votes and outdistanced Wichita State teammates Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet in voting conducted by coaches, sports information directors and a media panel (voters could not vote for their own student-athlete.) Including this year, 0 freshmen, 2 sophomores, 16 juniors (seven of whom repeated) and 29 seniors have won the award (spanning 1969-2015). In 2014, three Shockers were 1-2-3 in the voting -- the first time in the history of the award that the top three point-getters were all from the same team.

LARRY BIRD PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Seth Tuttle, UNI
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:  DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, Illinois State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:  Brenton Scott, Indiana State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Tekele Cotton, Wichita State
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR:  Wes Washpun, UNI
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Announced Thursday, March 5
COACH OF THE YEAR:  Announced Thursday, March 5

2015 MVC Player of the Year Voting

 Student-athletes received three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place vote.  Panelists could not vote for the student-athletes on their team (or for media, the team they cover).  A total of 47 voters served on this year's panel, including four voters from each school and an MVC network panel, consisting of seven additional voters.

 Tuttle has been named as a finalist on a host of national award lists, including the 2015 Oscar Robertson Trophy list, the 2015 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award list and the Naismith Trophy Midseason List. Tuttle is the only active player in the nation with more than 1,600 career points (1,681), 850 career rebounds (875) and 250 career assists (267). He leads his team in all three of those categories, plus blocked shots, this year. 

 The league's Freshman of the Year is Indiana State's Brenton Scott. The first-year player from Fort Wayne, Ind., is the third Sycamore to win Freshman of the Year honors, joining Eddie Bird (1988) and David Moss (2003). The MVC began selecting a Freshman of the Year award in 1986. Scott ranks second for ISU in scoring, averaging 11.4 points per game. He leads the team with 57 three-point baskets and 30 steals. He has been the Sycamores' top scorer in a game seven times this season.

 Illinois State's DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is the MVC Newcomer of the Year. The junior from Orlando, Fla., ranks second for ISU in scoring this year, averaging 13.0 points per game, a figure that led all first-year MVC players. Akoon-Purcell missed several games with a broken hand, but started 13 of the 23 games in which he played. His 5.7 rebound average leads the Redbirds while his 25 steals are third-best on his team. The MVC began its Newcomer of the Year program in 1969, and Akoon-Purcell joins former Redbirds Tarise Bryson (1999), Lorenzo Gordon (2005) and Chamberlain Oguchi (2009) as ISU players to earn the honor.

 For the second-straight year, the MVC's Defensive Player of the Year honor goes to Wichita State's Tekele Cotton. The senior from Marietta, Ga., is one of three Wichita State players among the league leaders in steals per game. As a team, the Shockers rank No. 9 nationally in fewest points per game allowed. Cotton, the team's "shut-down" defender, is typically assigned the opponents' top scorer and is joined by former Wichita State players Dwayne Praylow (1989) and Jamar Howard (2003) as Shockers who have won the league's top defensive honor. He's the fifth player in MVC history to earn the league's Defensive Player of the Year honor twice, joining Southern Illinois' Ashraf Amaya (1992, 1993), Darren Brooks (2004, 2005) and Bryan Mullins (2008, 2009); and Illinois State's Dan Muller (1996, 1997). The league began selecting a Defensive Player of the Year in 1989.

 The MVC also selects a “Sixth Man Award” recipient, and this season’s honor goes to UNI's Wes Washpun. The honor is presented to the league's top reserve player (one who has started fewer than 25 percent of his team's games). Washpun, a junior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has played in all 30 of UNI's games, coming off the bench in all of them. Nonetheless, he ranks second in scoring for the team with his 8.2 points-per-game average. He also ranks second for the Panthers in assists (83) and blocks (17), while tying for the team lead in steals (31). Washpun is the second UNI player to earn the Sixth Man Award, which was first chosen in 1997. Lucas O'Rear won it previously for UNI, in 2009 and in 2010.

2015 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Team
Ron Baker, Wichita State Jr. G 6-3 Scott City (Kan.) High
D.J. Balentine, Evansville Jr. G 6-2 Kokomo (Ind.) High
Egidijus Mockevicius, UE Jr. C 6-10 Kursenai (Lithuania) / Lithuanian Univ. of Educational Services
Seth Tuttle, UNI Sr. F 6-8 Sheffield (Iowa) West Fork High
Fred VanVleet, Wichita St. Jr. G 5-11 Rockford (Ill.) Auburn High

Second Team
Anthony Beane, S. Illinois Jr. G 6-2 Normal (Ill.) High
Devonte Brown, Indiana St. Jr. G 6-2 Killeen (Texas) Ellison High
Tekele Cotton, Wichita St. Sr. G 6-2 Marietta (Ga.) Whitefield Academy
Daishon Knight, Illinois St. Sr. G 6-1 Baltimore (Md.) Lake Clifton High | Maine Central Institute / Odessa College 
Reggie Lynch, Illinois St. So. C 6-10 Edina (Minn.) High

Honorable-Mention Selections
Darius Carter, Wichita St. Sr. F 6-7 Akron (Ohio) Firestone High / Vincennes JC
Deon Mitchell, UNI Sr. G 6-1 Pflugerville (Texas) High
Gary Ricks, Jr., Drake Sr. G 6-1 Los Angeles (Calif.) Sylmar High
Christian Thomas, Loyola Sr. F 6-5 St. Louis (Mo.) Clayton High
Wes Washpun, UNI Jr. G 6-1 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Washington / Tennessee

All-Newcomer Team
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, ILS Jr. G 6-5 Orlando (Fla.) West Oaks Academy / Eastern Oklahoma State College
Montel James, Loyola Jr. F 6-7 Kenner (La.) Bonnabel High / Coffeyville CC
Paul Jesperson, UNI Jr. G 6-6 Merrill (Wis.) High / Virginia
Brenton Scott, Indiana St. Fr. G 6-1 Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrup High
Reed Timmer, Drake Fr. G 6-1 New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower High

All-Freshman Team
Jordan Caroline, S. Illinois Fr. F 6-6 Champaign (Ill.) Montverde Academy
Josh Cunningham, Bradley Fr. F 6-7 Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park High
Shaquille Morris, Wichita St. Fr. F 6-7 Edmond (Okla.) Memorial High
Brenton Scott, Indiana St. Fr. G 6-1 Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrup High
Reed Timmer, Drake Fr. G 6-1 New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower High

All-Defensive Team
Tekele Cotton, Wichita St. Sr. G 6-2 Marietta (Ga.) Whitefield Academy
Paris Lee, Illinois State So. G 5-11 Maywood (Ill.) Proviso East High
Reggie Lynch, Illinois St. So. C 6-10 Edina (Minn.) High
Egidijus Mockevicius, UE Jr. C 6-10 Kursenai (Lithuania) / Lithuanian Univ. of Educational Services
Fred VanVleet, Wichita St. Jr. G 5-11 Rockford (Ill.) Auburn High