by Clarke University’s Darius Lasley (Meskwaki Nation) has been named to the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List for 2020. Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee today announced the Top 100 watch list for the 2020 Bevo Francis Award. This list consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
The Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
Lasley, a three-time Heart of America Athletic Conference Player of the Week selection this season, leads Coach Jim Blaine‘s 11-6 squad in scoring (18 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg), assists (83) and steals (52). He is shooting 50 percent from the field, 42.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 85 percent from the charity stripe.
2020 marks the fifth year of the Bevo Francis Award. Past winners include Dominez Burnett of Davenport University in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State University in 2017, Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial University in 2018, and Aston Francis of Wheaton College in 2019.
Bevo Francis played at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in Ohio in 1952-53 and 1953-54. During his first year, the Redmen went 39-0, and Bevo scored 1,954 points and averaged 50.1 points per game.
On February 15th, the list will be reduced to the Top 50 players. One month later on March 15th, the Top 25 players will be announced. On April 4th, the finalists of this year’s award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 6th.
Members of the Bevo Francis Award committee include the following coaches: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.), Gary Stewart – Stevenson (Md.), Arlen Galloway – Wentworth (Mass.), Chris Briggs – Georgetown (Ky.), Bill Dreikosen – Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Klint Pleasant – Rochester (Mich.), Ryan Kane – Ripon (Wisc.), Mark Berokoff – Hillsdale Baptist (Okla.), Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern, Rhett Soliday – Vanguard (Calif.), Sam Hargraves – Olivet (Mich.), Stacy Hollowell – Loyola (LA), Jon VanderWal – Marietta, Cleo Hill – Winston – Salem State and Stephen Brennan – Babson.
For the complete list of the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List Click Here.
