UNI’s Tuttle Named MVC’s Top Player; Three Other Panthers Also Honored

After helping the Panthers to a 27-3 overall record and a current No. 11 national ranking, UNI's Seth Tuttle has been honored as the top player in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) this season.

Tuttle (Sheffield, Iowa) is the third UNI player to earn the league's Larry Bird Award, joining following Jason Daisy (1997) and Adam Koch (2010).

The senior is the MVC's active leader in both scoring and rebounding. He leads the Panthers in scoring (15.6 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg), assists (3.3 apg) and blocks (0.6 bpg). Tuttle is shooting 63.0 percent from the field, which ranks No. 4 in the nation.

Tuttle has been named as a finalist on a host of national award lists, including the 2015 Oscar Robertson Trophy list, the 2015 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award list and the Naismith Trophy Midseason List. Tuttle is the only active player in the nation with more than 1,600 career points (1,681), 850 career rebounds (875) and 250 career assists (267).

He is the fifth UNI Panther to earn first-team All-MVC accolades in back-to-back seasons after posting seven 20-point scoring games and four double-doubles this season. He poured in a career-high 29 points and was 9-of-13 from the field in a 70-54 win over No. 12 Wichita State on Jan. 31.

Tuttle was named the MVC Player of the Week four times as a senior (seven times in his career).

The Missouri Valley Conference also selected a “Sixth Man Award” recipient, an honor presented to the league's top reserve player (one who has started fewer that 25 percent of his team's games). UNI junior guard Wes Washpun (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) won the award after playing in all 30 games, coming off the bench each time.

Despite being a reserve, Washpun ranks second in scoring for the Panthers with an 8.2 points-per-game average. He also ranks second in assists (83) and blocks (17), while tying for the team lead in steals (31).

Washpun is the second UNI player to earn the Sixth Man Award, which was first chosen in 1997. Lucas O'Rear won it previously for UNI, in 2009 and in 2010.

Washpun and senior guard Deon Mitchell (Pflugerville, Texas) were also named to the honorable mention All-MVC squad. Mitchell led the league in three-point field goal percentage (57.5 percent) in MVC games only. He started all 30 games for the Panthers and averaged 7.2 ppg. He ranks second on the team with 30 steals.

Junior Paul Jesperson (Merrill, Wis.) tallied a spot on the MVC’s All-Newcomer Team. He saw action in each of UNI's games, averaging 5.8 points.

Jesperson has drilled 49.2 percent of his field goal attempts and has also made 44.8 percent of his 3-point shots. He ranks second on the squad with 43 made 3-pointers, making at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 10 games.

No. 11-ranked UNI will be in action Friday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The Panthers will play the winner of Thursday's Drake-Bradley game.

2015 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Team
Ron Baker, Wichita State Jr. G 6-3 Scott City (Kan.) High
D.J. Balentine, Evansville Jr. G 6-2 Kokomo (Ind.) High
Egidijus Mockevicius, UE Jr. C 6-10 Kursenai (Lithuania) / Lithuanian Univ. of Educational Services
Seth Tuttle, UNI Sr. F 6-8 Sheffield (Iowa) West Fork High
Fred VanVleet, Wichita St. Jr. G 5-11 Rockford (Ill.) Auburn High

Second Team
Anthony Beane, S. Illinois Jr. G 6-2 Normal (Ill.) High
Devonte Brown, Indiana St. Jr. G 6-2 Killeen (Texas) Ellison High
Tekele Cotton, Wichita St. Sr. G 6-2 Marietta (Ga.) Whitefield Academy
Daishon Knight, Illinois St. Sr. G 6-1 Baltimore (Md.) Lake Clifton High | Odessa College
Reggie Lynch, Illinois St. So. C 6-10 Edina (Minn.) High

Honorable-Mention Selections
Darius Carter, Wichita St. Sr. F 6-7 Akron (Ohio) Firestone High / Vincennes JC
Deon Mitchell, UNI Sr. G 6-1 Pflugerville (Texas) High
Gary Ricks, Jr., Drake Sr. G 6-1 Los Angeles (Calif.) Sylmar High
Christian Thomas, Loyola Sr. F 6-5 St. Louis (Mo.) Clayton High
Wes Washpun, UNI Jr. G 6-1 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Washington / Tennessee

All-Newcomer Team
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, ILS Jr. G 6-5 Orlando (Fla.) West Oaks Academy / East. Okla. State College
Montel James, Loyola Jr. F 6-7 Kenner (La.) Bonnabel High / Coffeyville CC
Paul Jesperson, UNI Jr. G 6-6 Merrill (Wis.) High / Virginia
Brenton Scott, Indiana St. Fr. G 6-1 Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrup High
Reed Timmer, Drake Fr. G 6-1 New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower High

All-Freshman Team
Jordan Caroline, S. Illinois Fr. F 6-6 Champaign (Ill.) Montverde Academy
Josh Cunningham, Bradley Fr. F 6-7 Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park High
Shaquille Morris, Wichita St. Fr. F 6-7 Edmond (Okla.) Memorial High
Brenton Scott, Indiana St. Fr. G 6-1 Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrup High
Reed Timmer, Drake Fr. G 6-1 New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower High

All-Defensive Team
Tekele Cotton, Wichita St. Sr. G 6-2 Marietta (Ga.) Whitefield Academy
Paris Lee, Illinois State So. G 5-11 Maywood (Ill.) Proviso East High
Reggie Lynch, Illinois St. So. C 6-10 Edina (Minn.) High
Egidijus Mockevicius, UE Jr. C 6-10 Kursenai (Lithuania) / Lithuanian Univ. of Educational Services
Fred VanVleet, Wichita St. Jr. G 5-11 Rockford (Ill.) Auburn High