Northwestern Tre Demps Clutch Gene Award Nominees

The 2014-15 athletic year has all but come to a close, and that can only mean one thing: end-of-year awards. Beginning Monday, June 1, Inside NU will be handing out seven different awards to celebrate the top players, coaches and games of the year in Northwestern sports.

However, it's not just our decision; it's also yours. Today, Monday, May 25, we are releasing the nominees for all seven awards. At the bottom of each page is a poll, and that's where you can make your vote count. Voting will be open for a week, and will close at 11 p.m. on Sunday, May 31. Winners will be announced the following week. Without further ado...

The name says it all. Over the past year few years, there's been one player in Northwestern sports that has embodied the word "clutch," and that player is Tre Demps. So naturally, the award is named after him. But that doesn't mean he's the only player who came up big when it mattered most this past year.

Here are the nominees for Inside NU's 2015 Tre Demps Clutch Gene Award:

Nominees

Tre Demps, Basketball - It's not often that an award gets named after somebody. The honor is reserved for legends like Bill Russell or Roberto Clemente. That should tell you just how clutch Demps has been not only this past year, but throughout his career at Northwestern. He's done things like this. And this. And this. And he's done it on numerous occasions. According to Shot Analytics, Demps' effective field goal percentage in the first half of games in 2014-15 was 45 percent. His effective field goal percentage in the last 10 minutes of games was 58 percent, and in the last 3 minutes of games, it was an amazing 69 percent. There's no way Demps doesn't win this award, right?

Well...

Jack Mitchell, Football -

Staff Picks

Henry Bushnell: I'm going with Demps, and not just because I named the award after him. He's done it over and over and over again at the end of games.

Zach Pereles: It's Demps. Mitchell was clutch in one game this year; Demps was clutch in basically every close game Northwestern won down the stretch of this season.

Josh Burton: I wish I could go against the spread and say Mitchell, but Demps' continued ability to make contested shots with game winding to a close is more-than-deserving of the award that's named after him.

Josh Rosenblat: Mitchell was so bad this year if we're going to be real. Demps gets the nod here.

Kevin Dukovic: I'm going with Mitchell. The guy walked on from the baseball team and couldn't make an extra point consistently until the Notre Dame game, where he kicked some of the more clutch and meaningful field goals in NU football history.

Voting has ended. Check back throughout the week, as we'll be announcing winners Tuesday through Friday.