BOSTON, MA – After recording one of the best seasons in Northern Kentucky men's basketball history (with at least one game left to play this year at the NCAA Tournament), standout guard Marques Warrick continues to gain national attention as one of the best student-athletes in college basketball as the Lexington, Ky. native was named a finalist for the 2022-23 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award, announced by CollegeInsider.com.
 
The award is presented annually to the top mid-major student-athlete in NCAA Division I college basketball and honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
 
Warrick is one of the main reasons the Norse were able to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in just 11 years at the NCAA DI level and the second under head coach Darrin Horn with his outstanding play this season.
 
On the year, the junior guard is averaging 19.1 points, 2.7 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals. His 650 points scored is already ranked second all-time for most scored in a single season at NKU as he trails Derek Fields by just 14 points (1988-89) for most in school history. He is also already ranked fourth all-time in a single season in made field goals (224), sixth in made three-pointers (86) and ninth in scoring average (19.1).
 
To go with posting some of the best marks at NKU in a season, Warrick was also named All-League Second Team, the Horizon League Tournament's Most Valuable Player and he also earned a spot on the Horizon's All-Tournament.
 
Warrick posted 31 games so far this year with double-digit points, which includes 15 contests reaching the 20-plus point plateau. His mark of 45 points he dropped on Tennessee Tech in late November is still ranked in a tie for fifth for most points scored by a NCAA Division I student-athlete this year.
 
At the national level, the Lexington, Ky. native is ranked 13th in the nation in points scored (650), 25th in made field goals (224), 44th in points per game (19.1), 50th in three-pointers made (86) and 53rd in three-point percentage (.391).
 
Warrick also hit some impressive milestones this year, as he became the fastest NKU NCAA DI era student-athlete to reach 1,000 career points, a feat he accomplished in just 61 games, to go with setting the DI era record for most points scored in a single campaign.
 
 
The mid-major Player of the Year award is named after 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, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.
 
The recipient of the 2023 award will be announced later this March in Houston, the site of the NCAA DI Men's Basketball National Championship.
 
The Lou Henson award committee is a 30-member panel, consisting of five current division I head coaches, five retired head coaches, 10 current athletic directors and/or conference administrators, five members of the national media and five collegeinsider.com staff members.
 

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