ST. LOUIS – Illinois State men's basketball senior guard Paris Lee is the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year and the MVC Defensive Player of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday.
The all-time steals leader at ISU, Lee is the first Redbird to earn the league's top individual player honor in 16 seasons. In addition to averaging 13.0 points per game, Lee leads the league in steals (2.0), assists (5.1) and 3-pointers (69).
Lee received 100 total points to outdistance Wichita State's Markis McDuffie (34 points) and Landry Shamet (30 points).