UNC Bears men’s basketball guard Quinn Denker has been named to an early-season watch list for the best mid-major player in Division I.
Denker, a graduate student from San Jose, California, is on the list for the Lou Henson Award, according to CollegeInsider.com.
The award will be determined by a 10-member voting committee of current and former head coaches, along with senior staff members from CollegeInsider.com. CollegeInsider.com is a sports website primarily covering college basketball. The site presents gives out multiple awards each year honoring individuals who have been greats in the game, according to the website.
Northern Colorado guard Quinn Denker (35) celebrates after dunking the ball during a college basketball game against Colorado College at the Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)
A mid-major conference is outside of the Power Four conferences in NCAA Division I sports. Those Power Four are the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC and they generate the most money from athletics in the NCAA. UNC plays in the Big Sky Conference, which is a smaller Division I level.
Henson was a Hall of Fame head coach who won 775 games over 41 seasons at Illinois and New Mexico State. He is one of only 11 coaches to lead two different programs to the NCAA Final Four. Henson died in July 2020 at age 88.
The Henson Award will be announced in April in Indianapolis, which is the site of the Division I men’s Final four.
UNC is 9-3 this season with one game to play in its nonconference schedule. The Bears’ next game is Sunday at the University of Colorado. UNC is currently ranked 18th in the Dec. 22 men’s mid-major top 25 poll from CollegeInsider.com. The team starts Big Sky Conference play Jan. 1 at Montana State.
Denker had a strong start to the season. He averaged 18.7 points and 6.7 assists per game while shooting 52.3% from the field into early December. He’s missed the last two games with a broken hand.
He ranked first in the Big Sky Conference in assists per game (60 assists) and a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Denker scored or assisted on 29% of UNC’s total points and he was one of a few point guards averaging more than 18 points and six assists while shooting better than 50% from the floor.
Denker was named back-to-back Big Sky Conference player of the week Nov. 25 and Dec. 2.