By Brenda June Temple

1/11/2024

Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina senior guard Vonterius Woolbright appeared on the 2023-24 Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List that was announced on Wednesday by CollegeInsider through the award’s website, LouHenson.com. The 2024 Lou Henson Award, presented annually to the nation’s top Division I mid-major player, will be announced in Phoenix, Ariz., site of the men’s Division I Basketball Championship.

Woolbright is the lone representative from the Southern Conference on this year’s mid-season watch list and is among five players at North Carolina schools represented. He is joined by TreVon Spillers of Appalachian State, Duke Miles from High Point, UNC Asheville’s Drew Pember, and Trazarien White from UNCW. Woolbright is the second Catamount in recent years to land on the mid-season watch list, joining Mason Faulkner back in the 2019-20 season.

Two players representing the Southern Conference have earned the award which has been handed out since 2010. Wofford’s Fletcher Magee collected the hardware in 2019 with Malachi Smith of Chattanooga receiving the award in 2022.

Through the first 16 games of the season, Woolbright has guided the Catamounts to a 14-2 overall record and a 3-0 start to SoCon play, its best since 2019-20. He is averaging a double-double with 21.0 points and 12.4 rebounds per game, two marks that lead the SoCon while also ranking among the NCAA leaders in 11th and second, respectively, while leading the nation in defensive rebounds (10.13). Woolbright also ranks third in the conference with 5.4 assists per game.

Woolbright has scored in double figures in all 16 games this season including 12 double-doubles. He also posted his second career triple-double in the 14-point road win at ETSU, scoring 20 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists against the Bucs. Woolbright is just the third Catamount to achieve the triple-dip and the second to accomplish the feat twice.

Woolbright became the 49th Catamount to score 1,000 points in a WCU uniform, currently ranked 39th in program history with 1,076 career points. He also surpassed the 500-career rebound mark this season and stands on the cusp of hitting the 600-board mark with 599 which ranks him 21st in the school’s ledgers. Woolbright has also dished out 359 assists over the past three seasons, currently the 12th-most in school history.

The Lou Henson Award 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. Coach Henson passed away on July 25, 2020.

Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, CUSA, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC, West Coast. The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com.

WCU’s next home game is a nationally-televised match-up against current league co-leader Samford on Tuesday, Jan. 16, with a special 6 p.m. start on the CBS Sports Network (check local listings; DIRECTV Ch. 221; Dish Ch. 158). WCU will celebrate former Catamount Ronnie Carr who made the first 3-pointer in college basketball history back in November 1980.

Keep track of everything related to Catamount men’s basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts).

LOU HENSON AWARD – MID-SEASON WATCH LIST:
Tyson Acuff, Eastern Michigan
De’Sean Allen-Eikens, CSUN
Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort Wayne
T.J. Bickerstaff, James Madison
Jalen Blackmon, Stetson
Tommy Bruner, Denver
Terrell Burden, Kennesaw State
Clarence Daniels, New Hampshire
Tucker DeVries, Drake
Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison
Enrique Freeman, Akron
Tyon Grant-Foster, Grand Canyon
Marcus Hill, Bowling Green
Xavier Johnson, Southern Illinois
Dillon Jones, Weber State
Xaivian Lee, Princeton
Malik Mack, Harvard
Isaac McBride, Oral Roberts
Duke Miles, High Point
Riley Minix, Morehead State
Ajay Mitchell, UC Santa Barbara
Jonathan Mogbo, San Francisco
Drew Pember, UNC Asheville
Elijah Pepper, UC Davis
Caden Pierce, Princeton
Xavier Rice, Monmouth
Kyle Rode, Liberty
Reyne Smith, Charleston
TreVon Spillers, Appalachian State
Isaiah Swope, Indiana State
KyKy Tandy, Jacksonville State
Jamarii Thomas, Norfolk State
Tyler Thomas, Hofstra
Trey Townsend, Oakland
Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky
Shahada Wells, McNeese
Trazarjen White, UNCW
Amari Williams, Drexel
Danny Wolf, Yale
Vonterius Woolbright, Western Carolina

COURTESY WESTERN CAROLINA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS