Kingsley and Bell Named Co-MVPs at Annual Banquet

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s basketball team held its annual awards dinner Monday evening in Bud Walton Arena as the players, coaching staff and fans gathered to recognize the 2015-16 Razorbacks.

Junior Moses Kingsley brought home a team-best four awards on the night, including the Academic Excellence Award, Chairman of the Boards, Defensive Player of the Year honors and the Co-Most Valuable Player Award. He shared MVP honors with Anthlon Bell, who also garnered the Razorback HAWG Award.

Kingsley earned 2015-16 second team All-SEC honors and was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Defensive Team after averaging 15.9 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per contest. He was one of eight high-major players with 16 double-doubles on the year and was named one of 10 finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation’s top center. The Abuja, Nigeria, native finished the regular season as one of five high-major players in the country averaging at least 16.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He recorded a block in 31 of 32 games and ranked second in the SEC with 76 blocks on the year.

Bell etched his name into the record books in 2015-16 and became the second player in program history to lead Arkansas in three-pointers made for four consecutive seasons. He joined 2016 SEC Legend Pat Bradley (1995-99) as the only players to accomplish the feat. His 89 three-pointers made tied for the eighth-most in school history for a single season, while his 52 treys made in SEC play tied the program record. During his four-year career, Bell worked his way up the all-time scoring list and became the 39th Razorback to score 1,000 career points as he finished with 1,144 points, the 27th-most in Razorback history.

After leading the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game, Dusty Hannahs was recognized with the Razorback Free Throw Award and the Razorback HAWG Award. The junior saved his best performance for last, scoring a career-high 33 points against Florida in the SEC Tournament as he went 12-for-23 from the field and 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. He also entered the Razorback record books when he drilled eight 3-pointers against Mississippi State, marking the second-most treys made in an SEC game in school history.

As if there was ever any doubt who the Razorback Assist Award would go to, Jabril Durham was halfway to the stage before his name was called. The senior became the fourth player in program history to record 200 assists in a season when he dished out 204 helpers in 32 games to average 6.4 assists per contest. His 103 assists during the 18-game SEC season were also the second-most in school history.

2015-16 #Fastest40 Facts

For the third straight season, Arkansas finished higher than it was picked in the preseason poll, coming in eighth in the league after being picked 11th by the media.

Arkansas led the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio, while ranking second in assists per game.

Despite losing 71.9 percent of its scoring from last season, the Razorbacks finished third in the SEC in scoring average at 78.2 points per game.

Arkansas led the SEC with three players ranking in the top 11 in the league in points per game with Hannahs (16.5), Kingsley (15.9) and Bell (15.7). The Razorbacks boasted the only high-major trio in the country averaging over 15 points per game.

Hannahs, Kingsley and Bell became the third trio in Razorback history to each score 500-plus points in the same season. They joined Ron Brewer, Sidney Moncrief and Marvin Delph in 1977-78 and Todd Day, Oliver Miller and Lee Mayberry in 1990-91.

The Razorbacks had two of the top three players in 3-point field goal percentage in the SEC, as Bell finished second at .441 and Hannahs was third at .433.

Hannahs’ career-high 33-point game against Florida on March 10 in Nashville, Tennessee was the second-most points ever scored by a Razorback in the SEC Tournament.

Kingsley was named one of 10 finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation’s top center. He is the only high-major player represented on the list.

Arkansas Men’s Basketball 2015-16 Team Awards
Academic Excellence Award: Moses Kingsley
Razorback Performance Award: Willie Kouassi
Razorback Free Throw Award: Dusty Hannahs
Razorback Ironman Award: Manuale Watkins
Razorback HAWG Award: Dusty Hannahs and Anthlon Bell
Chairman of the Boards: Moses Kingsley
Razorback Service Award: Keaton Miles
Most Improved Player Award: Jabril Durham
Razorback Coaches Award: Trey Thompson
Razorback Assist Award: Jabril Durham
Defensive POY Award: Moses Kingsley
Most Outstanding Player Award: Anthlon Bell and Moses Kingsley

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