Calipari repeats as top coach

For the second consecutive year, John Calipari of Memphis was named Men's College Basketball Coach of the Year in the state of Tennessee by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.

Lester Hudson of the University of Tennessee at Martin was named Men's College Basketball Player of the Year, Mark Campbell of Union University was named Women's College Basketball Coach of the Year, and Alysha Clark of Middle Tennessee State University was named Women's College Basketball Player of the Year in a vote by members of TSWA.

Calipari led the Tigers to a 33-4 record, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the round of 16. Memphis was the regular-season champion in Conference USA with a 16-0 record and also won the C-USA tournament.

After the season concluded, Calipari was hired by Kentucky.

Hudson, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, was an honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America team. The Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year averaged 27.5 points per game, which was second-best in the country. He also averaged 7.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals and had a free-throw percentage of 88.1.

Hudson scored at least 30 points in 11 games including a career-high 42 against Tennessee Tech.

Campbell guided Union the NAIA Division I national championship and a 37-1 record. Union won both the regular-season and conference championship in TranSouth. Campbell has led Union to NAIA championships in 2005 and 2006.

Clark, a 5-10 junior forward, led the nation in scoring at 27.5 points per game. She was named a third-team All-American by the AP and the Player of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference.

Clark scored a school-record 50 points against Troy and later scored 45 points against Western Kentucky.

Calipari, Hudson, Campbell and Clark will be officially honored on July 10 during the TSWA awards luncheon in Brentwood.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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