March 28, 2006

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Senior men's basketball players LaVar Carter (Louisville, Ky.), Mark Patton (Barboursville, W.Va.), and Adam Zimmerman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) were honored at the men's basketball banquet Tuesday night at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Huntington.

Each senior addressed the banquet crowd about their love of Marshall, their teammates, their coaches, and the support staff that helped make their experience with the Thundering Herd one they will never forget.

Patton took home the team's most outstanding player award, along with the field goal percentage, free throw percentage, leading scorer, and rebounding awards. He also claimed the Neal B. "Whitey" Wilson Student-Athlete Award.

Junior point guard Chris Ross (San Antonio, Texas) won awards for assists, steals, and minutes played in the 2005-06 season.

Here is the complete list of award winners from Tuesday evening:

First Year Awards - Varsity Letter Award Jesse Oglesby Chris Ross Travis Aikens Markel Humphrey Jean Francois Bro Grebe Mason Wooldridge Mark Dorris Kenny Hatfield

Second Year Awards - Jacket Joe Miles Ryan Lamb Travis Persinger Mike Martinez

Third Year Awards - Blanket Adam Zimmerman Tre Whitted

Fourth Year Awards - Clock Mark Patton LaVar Carter

Conference USA Awards Mark Patton - Third Team All-Conference USA Markel Humphrey - C-USA All-Freshman Team

Statistical and Special Team Awards (Regular Season Statistics)

Mark Patton Hal Greer Field Goal % 49%

Mark Patton George Stone Free Throw % 75.8%

Chris Ross Mike D'Antoni Playmaker Award 124 assists

Mark Patton Russell Lee Leading Scorer 14.9 ppg

Chris Ross Jeff Battle Steals Award 51 steals

Mark Patton Charlie Slack Rebounding Award 6.9 rpg

Joe Miles Keith Veney 3-point Field Goal % 36%

Chris Ross Leo Byrd Thoroughbred Award 29.9 minutes played per game

Tre Whitted Cebe Price Most Courageous Award

Markel Humphrey Most Improved Player

Mark Patton Neal B. "Whitey" Wilson Student - Athlete Award

Mark Patton Walt Walowac Most Outstanding Player