Kansas City, MO – Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee are excited to announce the Top 50 watch list for the 2020 Bevo Francis Award. This list consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA. John McCarthy had this to say about this year's Top 50 watch list.
Northwest Missouri State has two players listed on the Bevo Francis Top 50 watch list in junior forward Ryan Hawkins and sophomore guard Trevor Hudgins. Hawkins and Hudgins have helped the Bearcats to a No. 1 NCAA Division II national ranking and a 24-1 record.
Hawkins is averaging 22.7 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 57.3% from the field and 46.9% from three-point range. Hawkins leads the MIAA in steals (2.4/game). Hawkins has collected seven double-doubles this season. Hawkins has reached 30 or more points on four occasions and he has posted 15 20-plus point scoring contests in 2019-20.
Hudgins leads the nation in three-point field percentage (53.9%) and is averaging 20.0 points per game. Hudgins is tops in the MIAA in assists (152 - 6.1 per game) and in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.6). Hudgins has two 30-plus point scoring contests and 16 20-plus point scoring games in 2019-20.
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season. 2020 marks the fifth year of the Bevo Francis Award. Past winners include Dominez Burnett of Davenport University in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State University in 2017, Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial University in 2018, and Aston Francis of Wheaton College in 2019. John McCarthy had this to add about this year's award.
On March 15th, the list will be reduced to the Top 25 Players. On April 4th, the finalist of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 6th. To stay up to date on all things Small College Basketball, please head to smallcollegebasketball.com.
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