| Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
 | |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Metro Conference |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1977 |
| Last awarded | 1995 |
| Currently held by | Jarvis Lang, UNC-Charlotte |
The Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was a basketball award given to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic (Metro) Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1976–77 season and was discontinued after the 1994–95 season. In 1995 the Metro Conference merged with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA.
There three ties in the award's history—1978, 1981 and 1988. One player, Darrell Griffith of Louisville, was also named the National Player of the Year (1980) by being presented the John R. Wooden Award.
Louisville represents the most all-time winners of the Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year with eight. The second most belong to Southern Mississippi with three (all of which belong to Clarence Weatherspoon). Weatherspoon was the only three-time winner of the award, while two others earned it twice (Keith Lee and Clifford Rozier).
Key[]
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: the Naismith College Player of the Year or the John R. Wooden Award |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Player of the Year award |
Winners[]
Darrell Griffith was the only Metro Conference Player of the Year (POY) to also win a National POY award – the Wooden Award in 1979–80.
George McCloud won the award in 1989 as a player for Florida State University.
| Season | Player | School | Position | Class | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–77 | Gary Yoder | Cincinnati | Shooting guard/Small forward | Senior | |
| 1977–78† | Harry Davis | Florida State | Small forward | Senior | |
| 1977–78† | Rick Wilson | Louisville | Shooting guard/Point guard | Senior | |
| 1978–79 | Pat Cummings | Cincinnati | Center | Senior | |
| 1979–80 | Darrell Griffith* | Louisville | Shooting guard | Senior | |
| 1980–81† | David Burns | Saint Louis | Point guard | Senior | |
| 1980–81† | Derek Smith | Louisville | Shooting guard | Junior | |
| 1981–82 | Keith Lee | Memphis State[d] | Power forward/Center | Freshman | |
| 1982–83 | Rodney McCray | Louisville | Small forward | Senior | |
| 1983–84 | John Williams | Tulane | Power forward/Center | Junior | |
| 1984–85 | Keith Lee (2) | Memphis State | Power forward/Center | Senior | |
| 1985–86 | Dell Curry | Virginia Tech | Small forward | Senior | |
| 1986–87 | Herbert Crook | Louisville | Small forward/Shooting guard | Junior | |
| 1987–88† | Bimbo Coles | Virginia Tech | Point guard | Sophomore | |
| 1987–88† | Pervis Ellison | Louisville | Center | Junior | |
| 1988–89 | George McCloud | Florida State | Shooting guard/Small forward | Senior | |
| 1989–90 | Clarence Weatherspoon | Southern Mississippi | Power forward | Sophomore | |
| 1990–91 | Clarence Weatherspoon (2) | Southern Mississippi | Power forward | Junior | |
| 1991–92 | Clarence Weatherspoon (3) | Southern Mississippi | Power forward | Senior | |
| 1992–93 | Clifford Rozier | Louisville | Center | Junior | |
| 1993–94 | Clifford Rozier (2) | Louisville | Center | Senior | |
| 1994–95 | Jarvis Lang | UNC-Charlotte | Small forward | Senior |
Winners by school[]
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Louisville (1975)[a] | 8 | 1978†, 1980, 1981†, 1983, 1987, 1988†, 1993, 1994 |
| Southern Mississippi (1982)[b] | 3 | 1990, 1991, 1992 |
| Cincinnati (1975)[a] | 2 | 1977, 1979 |
| Florida State (1976)[c] | 2 | 1978†, 1989 |
| Memphis State (1975)[b] | 2 | 1982, 1985 |
| Virginia Tech (1979) | 2 | 1986, 1988† |
| Saint Louis (1975)[a] | 1 | 1981† |
| Tulane (1975)[b] | 1 | 1984 |
| UNC-Charlotte (1991)[a] | 1 | 1995 |
See also[]
Footnotes[]
- a School was charter member of Conference USA but has since left for another conference.
- b School remains in the reunified Conference USA.
- c Florida State University left to join the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1991.
- d Memphis State University is now called the University of Memphis.