Tarke and Warren named to Mid-Season Lou Henson Award Watch List

The 2020-21 Lou Henson Award mid-season watch list was announced on Tuesday January 26 and two HBCU men's basketball players were selected among the list of 40 players that participate on NCAA teams in mid-major conferences.

Coppin State's Anthony Tarke and Hampton's Davion Warren were recognized for their production over the past two months of the college basketball season.  The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nations top NCAA Division-I mid-major player.  The award was created in 2010. In 2012, Norfolk State's Kyle O'Quinn was selected as the winner of the award and stands as the only HBCU men's basketball player to win the award.

Tarke is a 6-6 redshirt senior guard from Gaithersburg, MD who transferred to Coppin State from UTEP. He has played and started in all 15 games the Eagles have played this season.  He is averaging 15.8 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, 3.3 assist per game. He leads the team in total assists, steals and blocks. He scored a season high 34 points on December 10, 2020 in a 86-80 win against UNC Greensboro where he was 11-13 FG, 2-3 3FG, 10-15 FT with 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

He has becoming one of the leading candidates for player of the year in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), where he is fourth in scoring average, and first in rebounds, assists and steals per game on a team that is leading the Northern Division at this point in the season.

Warren is a 6-6 senior from Buffalo, NY who is playing in his second season with Hampton. Through 15 games played and started this season for the Pirates he is leading the team with a 21.8 point per game average, 6.9 rebounds per game, and 2.1 steals per game. He is second on the team in assists with an average of three per game.  Warren has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season. He had a season-high 34 points on January 14 at USC Upstate in a 69-68 conference victory for Hampton.  He has scored over 30 points in three games this season.

In the Big South, Warren leads the league in scoring average and steals per game, and is second in rebounds per game. A year removed from averaging 10.2 points per game as the 3rd leading scorer, Warren has become a candidate for player of the year.

Nationally, Warren's points per game ranks 7th among all Division I players (through Jan. 27) while Tarke's steals per game and total steals ranks 3rd among all Division I players (through Jan. 27).

About the award

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.

The award is named after Lou Henson who 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.