April 10, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 10, 2010 - Junior point-guard Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) was named Most Valuable Player for a record-tying third time on his career at the 31st Annual Nittany Lion Hoops Club Post-season Banquet. Battle joins recent Lion Jamelle Cornley, with whom he shared the award the previous two seasons, as the only Nittany Lions to earn three career team MVP awards since the awards inception in 1969.
Battle earned All-Big Ten and All-District honors for the second time in his junior season and finished second in the Big Ten in scoring posting 18.5 points per game. Battle was one of two players in NCAA Division I to average at least 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game and the only player among the six BCS conferences to lead his team in total points (574), rebounds (165), assists (129) and steals (34). Battle ranked third in the Big Ten with 4.2 assists per game, was 16th in rebounding (5.3), fifth in three-pointers made (71) and third in minutes played (37.0 mpg).
Fellow junior David Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) earned the Mr. Defense Award and was named the Most Improved Player. Jackson, who posted a career-best 17 double-figure scoring games on the season (13 vs. Big Ten teams), ranked second on the team scoring 9.5 points per game and was third with 4.5 rebounds per game, an increase of 4.0 points and 1.3 rebounds per game over last year.
Junior forward Jeff Brooks (Louisville, Ky.) earned the Unsung Hero Award after posting career-bests of 7.4 ppg and 4.2 rpg on the season and shooting 50 percent from the floor. Fellow junior Andrew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) earned the Coaches Award and freshman Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas), who started 10 games and played in all 31, earned the Most Inspirational Award. Senior Adam Highberger (Blairsville, Pa.), who returned to play in nine games after suffering season-ending ACL injuries each of the last two years, was named the Scrappiest Player and junior forward Steve Kirkpatrick (Carlisle, Pa.) earned the Scholastic Achievement Award.
The Nittany Lion Hoops Club honored Liz Ebeling and Rob McClenahan as Club Members of the Year and named APC International, Ltd. and Ian Henderson's Company as Corporate Club Members of the Year.
The Nittany Lions also honored senior managers Ryan Caler, Amanda Riley and Kyle St. James and spring graduates Andrew Ott and Highberger delivered departing remarks.
-NITTANY LIONS-