Calhoun, Simmons Get Top Honors

Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun, who led the Huskies from preseason also-rans to the Big East title and within one game of the NCAA tournament’s Final Four, was named college basketball coach of the year today by the Associated Press.

Lionel Simmons, the third-leading scorer in Division I history, was named college basketball Player of the Year.

Simmons, the 6-foot-7 senior forward from La Salle received 135 votes in nationwide balloting, outdistancing runner-up Gary Payton of Oregon State by 35 votes.

Derrick Coleman of Syracuse was third with 63 votes. Loyola Marymount’s Hank Gathers, who died March 4 after collapsing on the court during a game, was fourth with 42.

Simmons’ emotional reaction during a game to the news of the death of Gathers, a close friend since their boyhood days in Philadelphia, allowed the nation to see the human side of one of the game’s most consistent players.

He averaged 26.5 points per game this season to follow seasons of 20.3, 23.3 and 28.4. He led the Explorers to the country’s best record, 30-2, and first appearance in the second round of the NCAA tournament since 1955, when La Salle lost the title game in a bid to repeat as national champions.

Simmons led the Explorers in rebounding, 11.1, and blocked shots, 65. He was second in assists, 3.6, and third in steals with 58. He shot 51% from the field and made 31 of 65 three-point attempts. He managed these numbers while averaging 38.1 minutes per game.

Calhoun, the first Big East coach to win the award, received 194 votes in nationwide balloting conducted before the NCAA tournament. He easily outdistanced Kansas’ Roy Williams, who received 83 votes, and Michigan State’s Jud Heathcote, with 80.

Connecticut was picked eighth in preseason voting by the Big East’s nine coaches as Calhoun began his fourth season with the Huskies.

The young team--one senior--managed a share of the Big East regular-season title with Syracuse, the championship of the conference tournament and three victories in the NCAA before falling in the East Region final by the margin of an overtime buzzer-beater by Duke’s Christian Laettner.