DALLAS – The 2020-21 Conference USA superlative awards have been announced, with players from four different schools being honored among the five awards.  WKU junior center Charles Bassey has been named the 2020-21 Conference USA Player of the Year and was also named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.  Louisiana Tech forward Kenneth Lofton Jr., was named Freshman of the Year, Rice sophomore guard Travis Evee picked up Newcomer of the Year honors and Old Dominion senior forward Austin Trice earned Sixth Player of the Year recognition.  The Gene Bartow Coach of the Year Award went to Louisiana Tech’s Eric Konkol.  Voting on the awards was done by the C-USA head coaches and media members in each conference city.

2020-21 Men's Basketball Superlative Awards.(pdf)
 
Bassey averages 17.6 points per game, leads C-USA and ranks third nationally in rebounds per game (11.8) and places third in the nation in blocks per game (3.1) and double-doubles (14).  He is the only Division I player to rank in the top 20 in rebounds and blocks per game.  Bassey, who leads C-USA in field goal percentage at 61.1, is the only player in the nation since at least 2010 with three games in a season of at least 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.  The seven-time C-USA Player of the Week has been named to numerous award watch lists and semifinalist lists, and he is one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Center of the Year Award. 
 
This season, Lofton was named Conference USA Freshman of the Week a league-best nine times.  He ranks second on LA Tech in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per game and leads the Bulldogs in rebounds (195), FT attempts (120) and free throws made (70).  Lofton has 10 games with 10+ boards, and he is on pace to be the first freshman to lead the program in rebounding since NBA veteran Paul Millsap did it in 2003-04.  He places second in the conference with seven double-doubles.
 
Evee leads Rice and ranks 12th in C-USA in scoring at 14.4 points per game.  He places second in the conference in three-point field goals made (68) and three-point field goal percentage (.402).  Evee tops the Owls in free throw percentage (.830) and steals (27).  The VMI transfer led Rice in scoring 11 times, reaching double figures in 18 of 23 games.
 
Trice has come off the bench in 22 games this season to rank second on Old Dominion and ninth in the conference in rebounding, averaging 6.5 per game.  He is second on the Monarchs in field goal percentage (.516) and averages 9.0 points per game.  Trice has recorded 15 blocked shots to rank second on ODU.
 
Konkol picks up his first C-USA Coach of the Year award after leading the Bulldogs to the most conference wins (12) and overall victories (20) among league teams.  This marks the eighth time in nine seasons that Louisiana Tech has won 20 or more games and the fifth time under Konkol’s direction.  He is the second Bulldogs mentor to earn C-USA Coach of the Year honors, joining Michael White who earned the honor in the 2014-15 season.
 
The Conference USA Coach of the Year award is named in honor of C-USA Hall of Famer Gene Bartow, the legendary former coach at UAB along with other schools, who passed away in January 2012.
 
The 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Frisco tips off Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT. For more information visit ConferenceUSA.com.