Jackson Free Press

This might be one of the most open seasons ever in college basketball for the Howell Trophy. Many years, it seems like the season begins with a clear favorite, but this season, no school boasts a Marshall Henderson, Jarvis Summers, Stefan Moody or Jarvis Varnado.

The only returning finalist from last season is Quinndary Weatherspoon of Mississippi State University. If there was a preseason favorite, it might be the 6-foot, 4-inch guard out of Velma Jackson High School.

Last season Weatherspoon ended his freshman season third on the team in scoring at 12 points per game, and he was named SEC All-Freshman and SEC Freshman of the Week twice.

The league coaches named him first-team All-SEC this preseason. He is the only Bulldog to land on the preseason honors. MSU has won six Howell Trophies, which is the best for any university.

A recent trend in the Howell Trophy has been the University of Mississippi’s dominance. The Rebels have won the last four awards, with Moody becoming just the second player to win the trophy in back-to-back years.

If the Rebels want to make it five straight, it would seem that the preseason hopes lie with forward Sebastian Saiz. The SEC coaches named him second-team All-SEC in the preseason.

Saiz finished last season with averages of 11.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He is the second-best rebounder to return to the SEC this season. The senior is the only Rebel to land on one of the two preseason teams. UM has won four Howell Trophies all in the last four seasons.

The University of Southern Mississippi returns guard Khari Price from last year’s squad. Price averaged 9.8 points and is the leading returning scorer.

Him winning the Howell Trophy seems like a long shot since the Golden Eagles are going to struggle due to NCAA sanctions. USM has seen just one player win the award since the trophy was first handed out in the 2004-2005 season.

Jackson State University might find itself losing the award because the Tigers have two players who can win. Both guard Paris Collins and guard/forward Chace Franklin were named preseason first-team All-SWAC.

Collins and Franklin were important parts of the Tigers’ successful season last year. Both players’ returns give JSU a nice one-two scoring punch.

Collins finished second on the team last season with 13 points and was the top rebounder with 6.1 per game. Franklin was third in scoring with 12.3 points per game and third in rebounding with 5.2 rebounds.

Both players could steal votes from each other if they lead the Tigers to an impressive season. Since the award’s beginning, JSU has had one Howell winner (2006-2007 season) but hasn’t had a finalist since the 2009-2010 season.

Mississippi Valley State University’s Howell Trophy hopes will be with Marcus Romain. He led the Delta Devils in scoring …

While the Howell Trophy might be wide open, that is not the case with the Gillom Trophy. Can anyone wrestle the trophy away from Mississippi State University Guard Victoria Vivians?

The last two years have seen Vivians walk away with the award for best women’s player in the state of Mississippi. She is without a doubt the best player in the state and deserving of the award, and any other women’s player who wants to win it will have earned it if they best Vivians.

The MSU guard wasted no time in following up her incredible high-school career with a great start to her college one. As a freshman, she averaged 14 points per game, which was the best scoring output for any SEC freshman.

Vivians won the Gillom as a freshman and was the favorite to win it last year. She followed up a successful freshman season by averaging 17.1 points per game. It has hardly a surprise when she won the award for a second year in a row.

Now a junior, it seems Vivians is the frontrunner to take home a third Gillom Trophy. She is a preseason first-team All-SEC and leads a strong MSU that is nationally ranked and picked to finish second in the conference behind South Carolina.

Shandricka Sessom is the only other finalist for the Gillom to return this season. The University of Mississippi star had a breakout season as a sophomore.

Sessom should continue getting better this season and be even more of a scoring threat. To learn more about her, check out the Thursday, Nov. 10, Jackson Free Press Person of the Day.

Jackson State returns last season’s leading scorer Derica Wiggins, who averaged 12.2 points per game.

Coaches named her to second-team All-SWAC in the preseason. She will be expected to help JSU exceed its sixth place pick in SWAC.

Mississippi Valley State University boasts two potential Gillom winners: Ashley Beals and Christina Reed, who were both named to preseason All-SWAC teams.

Reed earned first-team All-SWAC honors after averaging 16.5 points per game last season. Beals earned second-team All-SWAC recognition for averaging 15.5 points a game that year.

Both Delta Devils might steal votes from the other by being teammates. Leading MVSU to the top of the SWAC after being picked to finish in ninth place would catch the eye of the voters.

Alcorn State University will turn to forward/center Henrietta Wells as its favorite to win the Gillom. Wells was named SWAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the preseason.

She doesn’t score a ton, averaging just five points, but she pounds the glass for 5.3 rebounds per game. Wells is the Braves’ rim protector, averaging 2.9 blocks per outing. She earned first-team All-SWAC honors for her defensive work in the preseason.

Vivians is the favorite, but any one of the women list …