BOSTON, Mass. – AJ McKee of the Milwaukee men's basketball team has been named to the Lou Henson 'Early Season' Watch List, announced Tuesday by the organization.
The award is presented annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball.
McKee, heralded as one of the top newcomers in the Horizon League by numerous sources and publications nationally, arrived at Milwaukee following a stellar run at Queens University, where he was a three-year starter and led the team in scoring in 2023-24 with his 18.8 ppg average, while adding 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He ranked third in the Atlantic Sun Conference in scoring, becoming the seventh player in program history to cross the 1,500-point mark for a career and entered play this year with 1,586 points following a season in which he was named ASUN Second-Team All-Conference. Through four games, McKee is averaging a team-leading 15.3 points a game while shooting 44.9 percent (22-of-49) from the floor.
The most recent player in MKE program history to appear on the in-season watch list was Matt Tiby back in the 2015-16 campaign. McKee is one of just two players on the list from the Horizon League, joined by Wright State's Brandon Noel.
The Lou Henson award honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons. Coach Henson is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989.
Henson, who is also the all-time winningest coach in New Mexico State history with 289 victories, is one of only 11 coaches to take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four. His teams have made 19 NCAA appearances and four NIT appearances. Coach Henson passed away on July 25, 2020.
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, Texas, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
