Emmanuel's Jones receives inaugural Trevor Hudgins Award from Small College Basketball
GREENVILLE, S.C. - KJ Jones II of Emmanuel can add one more award to his collection as he was announced as the inaugural recipient of the Trevor Hudgins Award, under the umbrella of Small College Basketball.
The award was announced on Monday night at halftime of the NCAA Division I national championship game in Phoenix. Jones will then participate in a ceremony on April 27 in Kansas City where he will meet Trevor’s family and supporters.
Jones previously became the first player in Conference Carolinas history to garner National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Player of the Year and Ron Lenz Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) National Player of the Year.
He was named Conference Carolinas Player of the Year three times, including each of the last two years. He leads all of NCAA Division II with an average of 26.2 points per game this season. He is the only player in the country to score more than 800 points, pouring in 837 points this season. Jones was also tabbed the Conference Carolinas Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s basketball.
The Atlanta, Georgia, native also led the country in free throw attempts and free throw makes while ranking 28th in the nation with an 88.0 free throw percentage. He also shot 46.9 percent from the floor and 36.6 percent from three-point range. Jones added an average of 4.1 assists per game.
ABOUT THE TREVOR HUDGINS AWARD
The Trevor Hudgins Award will be presented annually to the senior who has had the finest overall four-year career within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be overall career statistics and achievements, team achievements, awards, and personal character. The player must have played his entire career at the small college level. This will be the highest award given to a four-year player within Small College Basketball.
Arguably one of the best Small College Basketball players ever, Trevor Hudgins led the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats to three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships. This marked the first time in DII history that a team has won three straight National Championships. During his career, Hudgins started in every game and never missed one. He also never lost an NCAA Tournament game, leading the Bearcats to a remarkable 17-0 record in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. During his career, Hudgins led the Bearcats to four straight MIAA regular season championships and finished his career with an astounding record of 131-8.
Hudgins was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022. He holds both the NWMSU scoring and assists records and finished his career with 2,829 points, which ranks first all time in the 110 year history of the MIAA. Hudgins’ scoring total ranks him second all-time in Division II basketball history. He was named the MIAA Player of the Year in three straight seasons from 2020 to 2022. In 2022, Hudgins was named the Small College Basketball Bevo Francis Award winner, signifying the top small college basketball player in the United States. In 2022 he was selected by the Houston Rockets of the NBA on a dual contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum had this to say about the impact Hudgins had.
Click here for more information about the Trevor Hudgins Award.