BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Morehead State’s
Kenneth Faried has been selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Male Athlete of the Year for 2010-11 in voting by the league's athletics directors and sports information directors.
Faried, who completed his degree and eligibility and is an NBA Draft first round candidate, was the OVC Player and Defensive Player of the Year and an All-American by seven different outlets. He was joined in the award by the OVC’s Female Athlete of the Year, Eastern Kentucky senior distance runner Kat Pagano. The two winners will receive their awards at the League's annual Honors Luncheon on June 3 in Nashville.
“I want to start off by thanking Allah. He put me in a position to be where I am, he put me in all the right places just believing in him help me through a lot,” Faired said. “I want to thank my mother and my father for all the support they have given me through the years. I want to thank my coaches for pushing me all four years at Morehead and my teammates because they never let up on me because no matter how good I think I was or people said I was, they always kept me grounded.
“I want to thank the fans at Morehead State for being great people and for coming to MSU games and supporting us no matter if it’s raining, sleeting or snowing. That to me is diehard fan support. Finally, I’d like to thank the OVC and the people who voted for me to win this award. To be the OVC Male Athlete of the Year out of all the candidates in all of the sports is an honor. Thank you for believing I was the best candidate and giving me the votes to be the OVC Male Athlete of the Year.”
During his senior year Faried became the NCAA's modern era (since 1973) rebounding leader, grabbing 1,673 rebounds and passing Tim Duncan for that record. The senior from Newark, N.J. averaged 17.3 points, 14.5 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.9 steals per game while hitting 62.3 percent from the field. The 14.5 rebounds led all of Division I as did his 29 total double-doubles (he ended his career with 86 double-doubles, just one behind Duncan, the all-time leader). Faried also ranked third nationally in field goal percentage, 27th in blocked shots and 44th in steals. During the season he had three games with 20-plus points and 20-plus rebounds, which were three of only 10 occurrences during the season and he was the only player to do it more than once. He was named OVC Player of the Week a record eight times during the season and finished his career with 15 Player of the Week awards, also the most all-time in league history. Those numbers earned him his second-straight OVC Player of the Year award and third consecutive OVC Defensive Player of the Year honor.
“I think Kenneth’s on-court accomplishments as one of the greatest players to ever play in the OVC speak for themselves, but this award only helps affirm what a great all-around person he is,” said Donnie Tyndall, Faried’s coach during his tenure at MSU. “Kenneth embodies what we try to teach all of the players that join our program: if you work hard, study hard and are a first-class person, you will succeed in basketball and in life. This is an award that is well deserved and all of Eagle basketball offers their congratulations to Kenneth.”
Following the season he was named an All-American by seven different outlets, including third-team honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (where he was also named National Defensive Player of the Year) and the Associated Press. Faried was instrumental in helping lead Morehead State to a 62-61 victory over No. 4 seed Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, blocking the Cardinals last second shot attempt to preserve the victory. It was the Eagles second NCAA Tournament victory in the last three years.
Faried finished his career second in OVC history in rebounds, third in blocks (241) and sixth in steals (228) and is one of just six players in NCAA history to score more than 2,000 points (2,009) and grab more than 1,600 rebounds in a career.
