By: Mark Wasik
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Chris Youngblood is up for his first national honor, as the Kennesaw State junior guard is a finalist for the 2022-23 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award, it was announced on Thursday.
Youngblood, a native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., is one of the most explosive scorers in the ASUN. He reached double-figures in 28 games this season and in all 18 ASUN regular-season conference games. He paced the Owls in scoring with 14.7 points per game, which ranked him in the top 15 in the ASUN, and he posted six 20+ point performances on the season. On Sunday, he scored 16 points to help lead the Owls to their first-ever ASUN Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament bid with a 67-66 victory over Liberty. That earned him ASUN All-Tournament Honors as well.
The first Owl to claim First-Team All-ASUN honors since 2016-17, Youngblood turned in one of the best games of his career when he scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting in KSU's home win over Liberty on Feb. 16, while he also came up with a huge steal and dunk in the final minute to help the Owls rally past Stetson 82-81 in overtime for a big road victory Jan. 19. One of the top shooters in the conference, he ranks sixth in both free throw percentage and three-point percentage.
Currently, he ranks ninth all-time for points in a season at KSU with 499, fourth in three-point percentage (41.1%) and is tied for fourth with 79 made three-pointers this season.
The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I men's basketball, and honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in his career.
