ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Illinois State freshman guard Johnny Kinziger has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Bench Team, announced by the MVC office on Tuesday afternoon.
Voted on by a panel of the conference's newspaper beat writers and a panel of media voters, the team is comprised of a minimum of five student-athletes (top five vote-getters, plus ties) on each squad.
The De Pere, Wisconsin, native is Illinois State's 16th member of the All-Bench Team, with the last honoree on the team coming from Antonio Reeves after the 2020 season.
Kinziger averages 8.6 points per game and is one of five players on the team this season to have played in all 31 of the games. He has dished out 57 assists on the year with 26 steals and is the only freshman in the country this year with shooting percentages of .466 (field goals), .394 (three-point field goals), and .864 (free throws).
His 37 three-point baskets made this season are tied for the eighth-most by a Redbird freshman in program history (tied with Paris Lee), while his free throw percentage stands as the highest among ISU freshmen, and his three-point percentage is fifth.
The Redbird freshman was joined on the All-Bench Team by team captain Xavier Bledson (Indiana State), Chuck Bailey III (Evansville), Tanner Cuff (Evansville), Cesare Edwards (Missouri State), Colby Garland (Drake), and Brian Moore Jr. (Missouri State).
The other Illinois State men's basketball players to earn a spot on the MVC All-Bench team include Antonio Reeves (2020), DJ Clayton (2017), Nick Banyard (2016), Bobby Hunter (2015), Bryant Allen (2012), Austin Hill (2010), Brandon Sampay (2009), Emmanuel Holloway (2008), Neil Plank (2005), Trey Guidry (2004), Shawn Jeppson (2001), Kyle Cartmill (1998), Steve Hansell (1997), Chad Altadonna (1995), Marcus Franklin (1995).
ISU opens play at the 2024 MVC Tournament on Thursday at 6 p.m. when the squad faces off against the Evansville Aces, a team that the Redbirds split with during the regular season, falling 58-54 in Evansville on January 27 and winning 86-79 in Normal on February 18.
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