JONESBORO, Ark. (11/19/24) – Arkansas State forward Kobe Julien was one of 50 players on the Early-Season Watch List for the Lou Henson Award, presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball.
Julien, the preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, is one of two players from the league on the list. He is averaging 14.8 points per game through four contests as well as 5.5 rebounds per outing. Julien has scored in double figures three times this season, including a season-best 20 to lead all players on Nov. 8 at No. 2 Alabama.
The Baton Rouge, La., native was a second-team All-Sun Belt performer a season ago at Louisiana, leading the conference in scoring (17.3). He is A-State's first player to make the watch list for the award since Norchad Omier in 2021-22.
Julien was one of three Red Wolves on the preseason All-Sun Belt teams, earning a First-Team nod in addition to being named the league's preseason Player of the Year.
ABOUT THE LOU HENSON AWARD
The Lou Henson Award honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons. The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com. The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State concludes its three-game home stand Friday, Nov. 22, hosting Lane College. Tip-off against the Dragons is slated for 7 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena, and the game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State men's basketball program, follow @AStateMB on Twitter/X and @astatemb on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateMB.
2024-25 LOU HENSON AWARD EARLY-SEASON WATCH LIST
Tytan Anderson, Northern Iowa
Daniel Batcho, Louisiana Tech
Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort Wayne
Austin Benigni, Navy
Devontae Blanton, EKU
Juslin Bodo Bodo, High Point
Trey Bonham, Chattanooga
Jamar Brown, Kansas City
Ante Brzovic, Charleston
Adam Clark, Merrimack
AJ Clayton, Ohio
Zach Cleveland, Liberty
Tayton Conerway, Troy
Duke Deen, Bradley
Kintavious Dozier, Grambling
Kezza Giffa, High Point
Landon Glasper, NC A&T
Tyon Grant-Foster, Grand Canyon
Barrington Hargress, UC Riverside
Bryce Harris, Howard
Ray Harrison, Grand Canyon
Ty Johnson, UC Davis
Jordan Jones, Central Connecticut
Rylan Jones, Samford
Kobe Julien, Arkansas State
Jacari Lane, North Alabama
Xaivian Lee, Princeton
Kino Lilly, Jr., Brown
TJ Long, Vermont
Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Bez Mbeng, Yale
Issac McBride, Oral Roberts
AJ McKee, Milwaukee
Trent McLaughlin, Northern Arizona
Amarri Monroe, Quinnipiac
Brandon Noel, Wright State
Jacob Ognacevic, Lipscomb
Caden Pierce, Princeton
Josh Pascarelli, Marist
Quimari Peterson, ETSU
John Poulakidas, Yale
Matt Rogers, American
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa, Columbia
Christian Shumate, McNeese
Javan Simmons, Toledo
Payton Sparks, Ball State
Ray'Sean Taylor, SIU Edwardsville
Earl Timberlake, Bryant
Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Houston
JaCobi Wood, Murray State
