Michigan State University Athletics
Valentine Named USBWA All-District V Player of the Year
3/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Michigan State senior guard Denzel Valentine has been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association District V Player of the Year, the USBWA announced on Tuesday afternoon. Fellow Spartan senior Bryn Forbes joins Valentine on the 10-member all-district team.
Joining Forbes and Valentine on the all-district team are Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Henry Ellenson (Marquette), Kay Felder (Oakland), Yogi Ferrell (Indiana), A.J. Hammons (Purdue), Nigel Hayes (Wisconsin), Malcolm Hill (Illinois) and Alec Peters (Valparaiso). Indiana's Tom Crean was named District V Coach of the Year.
The USBWA includes a national membership of 900-plus men and women, and has selected all-district teams since the 1956-57 season, its founding year.
Valentine is having a historic season, as he is on pace to become the first player to average 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists since the NCAA first recognized the assist as an official stat in 1983-84. He currently leads the Big Ten in overall scoring (19.6 ppg) and assists (7.5 apg), looking to be the first Big Ten player to do that since Iowa's Andre Woolridge in 1997. He finished Big Ten play averaging 20.5 points and 7.8 assists, becoming just the fourth player to pace the conference in both categories in Big Ten games since 1975, joining Woolridge (1997), Michigan State's Marcus Taylor (2002) and Michigan's Trey Burke (2013). Valentine also leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goals made, both overall (3.4) and in conference games (3.8). He is the first Spartan to lead the conference in scoring in Big Ten games since Taylor in 2002, and just the ninth Spartan all-time to accomplish that feat.
Earlier this season, Valentine became just the fourth Spartan to record a triple-double when he totaled 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists against Kansas and one of three Spartans with more than one when he followed nine days later with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Boston College. His five games of 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds are the most in the nation since 2010-11. In games which he has started, Valentine has either made or assisted on 50.2 percent of MSU's baskets.
He is the only Spartan to rank in the Michigan State Top 10 in both career assists (3rd, 600) and career rebounds (10th, 824). In addition he ranks 13th in career scoring (1,580), fourth in career 3-point field goals made (254), and fourth in career 3-point field-goal attempts (621). He also ranks tied for sixth in career games played (140).
Forbes leads the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage (.505) and ranks ninth in 3-point field goals made per contest. In Big Ten games, he shot 51.2 percent from behind the arc, and averaged 3.7 made 3-pointers per contest, ranking second in both categories. He ranked second on the team and tied for 11th in the Big Ten in scoring in conference games (15.8). Overall, his 15.1 points per game scoring average ranks 13th. In just two seasons with the Spartans, he ranks eighth in MSU history with 174 made 3-pointers and second in 3-point field-goal percentage (.470). Forbes' 104 3-pointers this season rank third on the MSU single-season chart, trailing only Shawn Respert (119, 1994-95) and Drew Neitzel (114, 2006-07).
