BOSTON – Another day, another honor for UC San Diego senior guard Bryce Pope. Wednesday, Pope was named a finalist for the Lou Henson Award, presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball.
 
On Tuesday, Pope garnered All-District recognition by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Last week, he became the first Triton to be named All-Big West First Team. During conference play, Pope ranked third in The Big West in scoring at 19.3 points per contest while leading the league at 36.5 minutes per game. A three-time Big West Player of the Week this season, Pope has started 103 consecutive games and currently sits fourth all-time in scoring in UC San Diego history with 1,611 career points. 
 
The Lou Henson award honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.

Coach 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.

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.
 
The winner of the Lou Henson Award will be announced at the Men's Basketball Final Four next month in Phoenix.
 
Pope and the Tritons earned the second seed in the Ro College Basketball Invitational, which tips Saturday afternoon in Daytona Beach.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.