Custer Is Player of the Year

(St. Louis, MO) – Move over Adam Emmenecker! There’s a new ‘swiss army knife’ that has been named the MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year. It’s Loyola’s Clayton Custer.

The junior guard did a little bit of everything for the conference champions as his name is all over the Valley’s statistical leader boards. During conference play Custer was seventh in scoring (15.4 ppg), third in field goal percentage (.559), third in assists (4.3), second in steals (1.9), first in three-point percentage (.500) and fifth in made three-pointers (2.3).

The Ramblers were 23-2 when Custer was in the lineup and 2-3 when he wasn’t. Custer becomes the first-ever ‘Player of the Year’ for the Ramblers who are in their fifth year of Missouri Valley Conference play.

Drake University’s Adam Emmenecker was a box score stuffer for the 28-5 Bulldogs of 2008. Custer also becomes the third straight point guard to win the award (Fred VanVleet and Paris Lee).

Custer received 40 of the possible 47 first place votes for this year’s award, finishing with a vote total of 125 points. Preseason ‘Player of the Year’, Missouri State’s Alize Johnson picked up two first place votes and finished second with 55 points. Reed Timmer was third, Milik Yarbrough fourth and Ryan Taylor fifth.

Those five players were also named to the Valley’s first-team, all-conference team.

Other significant individual awards were announced today.

Other Ramblers receiving notoriety were senior Ben Richardson as the Valley’s top defensive player and center Cameron Krutwig was named the ‘Freshman of the Year’.

Illinois State’s Milik Yarbrough was named the league’s ‘Newcomer of the Year’ and Southern Illinois’ sixth year senior Tyler Smithpeters was selected as the ‘6^th Man of the Year’.

The Scholar Athlete, all-Bench team, Most-Improved Team and the Coach of the Year awards are yet to be announced.

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