Justin Hare earned CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Most Valuable Player honor. Courtesy ASunPhotos.com
Date Posted: 4/4/2008
NASHVILLE, TENN. - arning perhaps his most significant national on-court honor to date, Belmont Basketball senior Justin Hare has been named Mid-Major Most Valuable Player by CollegeInsider.com, the site announced Friday.
Hare, who earlier this week was named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-America team, led the Bruins to a third consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference Championship and third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Seeded 15th in the West Region, Belmont challenged three-time national champion Duke to the final horn, before losing 71-70. The Bruins finished the 2007-08 season with a record of 25-9. All told, Hare won 82 games in his four-year career.
“This is a tremendous honor for Justin,” says Belmont head coach Rick Byrd. “He has represented our program well, both on the court and in the classroom, during his time at Belmont. With all he has achieved and all he has meant to our program, it will be difficult not having him in a Belmont uniform to open next season. There is little doubt he will graduate as the most significant player of our Division-I era.”
The 6-foot-2 guard led the Bruins in scoring (14.7 ppg) shooting 43% from the field and 38% from three-point range. He was also fourth in the nation from the free-throw line, shooting nearly 92%.
