McKenna named MVC Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Third-year Indiana State head basketball coach Kevin McKenna has been tabbed the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.

McKenna led Indiana State to a 17-13 record during the regular season and through play at last week's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Sycamores were 9-9 this season in league play. It marked the first time since the 2000-01 season that ISU finished the regular season with a record over the .500 mark and the first time since that same campaign that the Sycamores finished league play with at least a .500 ledger.

Sycamore senior Harry Marshall was named the All-MVC Second Team and was also a member of the MVC's All-Defense squad. Aaron Carter and Jordan Printy were tabbed as MVC Scholar-Athletes on the second team. Marshall's 16.2 ppg scoring average in league contests led the league.

The Sycamores achieved their winning season despite losing junior Jake Kelly (the team's third leading scorer) during the conference opener against Southern Illlinois as well as sophomore Dwayne Lathan (the team's second leading scorer) in the conference's fourth contest at Bradley. Lathan went on to miss a total of eight (out of 18) league contests over the course of the season. He posted a career-high 27 points at Arch Madness against Illinois State. Marshall also missed a total of five MVC contests during the course of the season with a foot injury. All told injuries cost the Sycamores a total of 30 missed conference contests combined by three of its top four scorers.

McKenna is the first Sycamore coach to earn a Coach of the Year honor since 2000 when Royce Waltman was named the MVC Coach of the Year by the league's annual vote of head coaches, sports information directors and media panel.