This Central Kentucky college basketball star is NAIA national player of the year
The Georgetown College men’s basketball team was denied an opportunity to defend its 2019 national championship when the coronavirus pandemic brought this season to a premature end, but the Tigers’ program got some good news this week.
Senior forward Chris Coffey was named the NAIA Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches after leading Georgetown to a 30-2 overall record and the Mid-South Conference regular season and tournament championships. The Tigers were ranked No. 1 in the nation when the season came to an end.
Coffey, a Louisville native and graduate of Seneca High School, is one of just two players in Georgetown College history to record more than 1,500 points and 1,200 rebounds. He averaged team-highs of 15.4 points and 12.7 rebounds per game this season and was named a First Team All-American.
Two more Tigers also earned All-America honors. Eljay Cowherd was named to the Third Team while Jacob Conway was an honorable mention.
“Chris, Eljay and Jacob have been absolutely amazing to coach,” Georgetown Coach Chris Briggs said. “We are very fortunate to have had the opportunity to watch them grow up together these past five years ... Three winners that became leaders, worked hard and did things the right way. They have become brothers with a very special lifelong bond that nothing can take away.”
Coffey is the third player in program history to be named NAIA Player of the Year, joining Vic Moses (2013) and Deondre McWhorter (2016).
Coffey scored 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and six steals in Georgetown’s final game of the season, an 88-72 victory over Thomas More in the Mid-South Conference Tournament championship game.
