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BOSTON, Ma. – Ohio men's basketball sophomore guard Mark Sears has been named a finalist for the 2022 Lou Henson award; the organization announced on Monday (March 28). 
 
Sears finished the season leading Ohio with 19.7 points a game, while shooting .443 from the field, .408 from three and .885 from the line. Sears also averaged 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Sears was a five-time MAC Player of the Week and was named to the All-MAC First team, MAC All-Tournament Team and was named NABC All-District 15 First Team. Sears set a career-high in points in the final game of the year, scoring 37 points against Abilene Christen in the CBI Quarterfinals. 
 
The Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I college basketball, honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
 
Henson is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989.
 
Henson, who is also the all-time winningest coach in New Mexico State history with 289 victories, is one of only 11 coaches to take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four. His teams have made 19 NCAA appearances and four NIT appearances.
 
Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.
 
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