Senior Nathan Adrian and junior Jevon Carter were named co-Most Valuable Players of the WVU men’s basketball team at the squad’s 2016-17 banquet, held Wednesday night in Morgantown.

 

Adrian, who was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team and All-Big 12 Defensive Team, played in 140 career games, the fifth most in school history. The Morgantown, West Virginia, native played in the NABC All-Star Game at the NCAA Final Four. Adrian was named the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and named to the Academic All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball First Team. This past season, Adrian averaged 9.6 points per game and led WVU in rebounding with 6.0 boards per contest.

 

Carter, who led the Mountaineers in scoring at 13.5 points per game and led the team in steals with 92, was named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, the NABC Defensive Player of the Year and the Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year. Named to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team for the third year in a row, the Maywood, Illinois, native was named to the All-Big 12 Conference Second Team and to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. Carter became WVU’s 51^st 1,000-point scorer this season. He was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball First Team and to the CoSIDA Academic All-District II First Team.

 

Other award winners were Tarik Phillip (Sixth Man), James Long (Unsung Hero and Team Man), Carter (Best Defender), Teyvon Myers (Charge Leader) and Elijah Macon (Most Improved).

 

The Mountaineers finished the 2016-17 season with 28 victories, the third-most wins in a season in school history and a NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. WVU posted a runner-up finish in the Big 12 regular season and championship for the second year in a row and finished No. 11 in the final USA Today Coaches’ poll. 

 

Editor's Note: Photo by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.