Jeff Adrien Wins 2011 D-League Impact Player Of The Year Award

Jeff Adrien made a huge impact on the D-League during his 27 game mid-season stint before being called-up to the Golden State Warriors, averaging 19.9 points and 12.2 rebounds during his stay in the Rio Grande Valley before moving on to the NBA.

You probably already knew that, though, and so did the the D-League coaches as Adrien was named the NBA Development League's Impact Player of the Year on Thursday.

"It's a very fitting award and accomplishment," Rio Grande Valley Vipers coach Chris Finch said in a press release, "because he not only made an impact on the court, but also on changing the culture of our team when we needed leadership and maturity."

According to the league, the Impact Player of the Year award is given to a player who joins an NBA D-League team after Dec. 1 and makes the greatest contribution following his in-season acquisition.

Selecting Adrien was a bit of a no-brainer, but I'm a bit surprised that Antoine Walker didn't get some sort of honorable mention. 'Toine's team didn't make the playoffs, but the Idaho Stampede began the season 0-7 without the former three-time All-Star before finishing 24-26 on the season.

Previous winners of the award include Brian Butch (Bakersfield, 2010), Eddie Gill (Colorado, 2009) and Morris Almond (Utah, 2008).