Tyler Smithpeters was named the Sixth Man of the Year in the Missouri Valley today. The award goes to a player in the Missouri Valley who started less than 25 percent of their games this season. Smithpeters, a Harrisburg native, averaged 7.5 ppg. 4.1 rpg. and 2.3 apg in 31 games (5 starts) this season while hitting a team best 45 3-pointers. Smithpeters is the fourth Saluki to earn the award. Joshua Cross in 2000, LaMar Owen in 2004, and Tony Young in 2005 have also earned the award as a Saluki.
Kavion Pippen was named to the All-Conference Third Team and All-Newcomer Team in the Valley. At the beginning of the season it was expected that Pippen would be a player that would come off the bench for Thik Bol. When Bol was announced being out for at least six weeks, which would later turn into the full season, Pippen stepped up to fill the void. Pippen averaged 12.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 1.3 bpg in his 31 games.
Armon Fletcher was named to the All-Conference Second Team. Fletcher led the Salukis on a tear through the Valley, winning 8 of their last 11 games of the season while adjusting to a new role as a hybrid forward. In 30 games this season, Fletcher averaged 14.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, and 1.2 spg.
Sean Lloyd was named to the All-Defensive Team. Lloyd averaged 5.0 rpg, 1.5 spg, and 0.5 bpg. To add to that, Lloyd also picked up 11.9 ppg and led the team in minutes per game with 34.4.
Other Top Player award recipients include Ben Richardson (Loyola) as Defensive MVP, Cameron Krutwig (Loyola) as Freshman of the Year, Milik Yarbrough (Illinois State) as Newcomer of the Year, and Clayton Custer (Loyola) as the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year.
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