St. Louis ? Drake guard Adam Emmenecker, the surprise element on the surprise team in the Missouri Valley, on Tuesday was named the conference’s player of the year. Emmenecker, a 6-foot-1 senior who started only two games his first three seasons, totaled 177 assists with a conference-best 6.1 per game for No. 20 Drake.

Drake also landed guard Josh Young, a sophomore, on the all-conference first team. Others on the first team were Jeremy Crouch of Bradley, Osiris Eldridge of Illinois State and Randal Falker of Southern Illinois.