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NM STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL

Allen named finalist for 2022 Lou Henson Player of the Year Award

2022 WAC Player of the Year in the running for title of nation's best mid-major player

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The best mid-major college basketball player in the nation could very well have sported NM State colors in 2021-22.

In a release issued Monday afternoon, NM State redshirt junior guard Teddy Allen found out he is one of 40 finalists for the 2022 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award.

Presented annually to the top mid-major player in NCAA Division I men's basketball since 2010, the award is named for the late Lou Henson who won 775 games in 41 seasons at NM State and Illinois. Past winners of the award include Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's, 2013), Thomas Walkup (SFA, 2016) and Fletcher Magee (Wofford, 2019).

One of four WAC players who saw their name appear on the 40-man finalist list, Allen will forever be an NM State legend after his sole season in an Aggie uniform in 2021-22. Already the owner of such laurels as WAC Player of the Year and WAC Newcomer of the Year, Allen burst onto the scene for NM State, making a splash around the region and nation when he committed to the institution in the summer of 2021.

Maintaining his reputation as an elite-level scorer, Allen enhanced his game in multiple ways through the year. While his 19.6 points per game topped the WAC charts and ranked 29th nationally, the high-scoring guard added to his developing all-around game by leading the Aggies in rebounding (6.8 per game) and steals (1.2 per game), too.

A four-time WAC Player of the Week award winner, Allen wrapped up the season with a team-leading seven double-doubles to his credit while failing to reach double-digits in the scoring column just once in his team's 34-game slate. Allen enjoyed 17 games of 20 or more points, four outings with 30 or more markers and one game with a career-high tying 41.

With Allen on their side, the Aggies constructed a 27-7 record in 2021-22. Included in that overall mark was a 14-4 showing in WAC games which yielded a fourth regular-season league title in the last five seasons as well as the top seed for the 2022 WAC Tournament.

Allen's most notable game in an NM State uniform came on the nation's biggest stage when he cooked #21/21 and fifth-seeded UConn for a game-high 37 points to lead 12th-seeded NM State to a 70-63 victory over the Huskies in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. That win represented NM State's first NCAA Tournament triumph since 1993 and snapped a 12-game skid for the program in the Big Dance.

Sunday afternoon in an Instagram post, the Phoenix, Ariz., product announced his intentions to hire an agent to prepare for the 2022 NBA Draft. That decision marked the conclusion of Allen's collegiate career.

Also occurring on Sunday, NM State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia announced the hiring of Greg Heiar as the program's 27th head men's basketball coach. Having coached with and played for former NM State head coach Chris Jans, Heiar most recently led Northwest Florida State College to the NJCAA Division I national championship in mid-March of 2022. Heiar's club displayed one of the most impressive year-to-year turnarounds in college basketball history at any level by going 31-5 on the heels of a 6-15 showing in 2020-21.

For complete coverage of NM State men's basketball, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Men's Basketball), Twitter (@NMStateMBB) and Instagram (@NMStateMBB).

NM State Men's Basketball

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