Western’s Andy
Kwiatkowski was named recipient of the Moser. The Cambridge, Ontario
native, who’d toiled for the national team the previous summer, averaged 25.3
ppg to lead the OUA in scoring. He also averaged 8.7 rpg, pilfered 59 balls and
shot .560 from the floor. The computer science major and transfer from Simon
Fraser University was twice named first-team All-Canadian and led the Mustangs
to a 19-3 regular season OUA West title. “There are so many guys who could’ve
won this, like any one of the All-Canadians – they’re all really good players,”
Kwiatkowski told Canadian Press. “This is certainly a team award for one. It’s
easier to gain recognition when you’re on a winning team, but more than that,
the chemistry on this team has definitely been a big part to all of our
successes.” Kwiatkowski said a summer of playing for the national team advanced
his game. “I think I improved tremendously – not only in my numbers, but I
gained a real comfort and control on the court, which has made a huge impact on
my game. … It has certainly been what I had hoped for as we’ve won
back-to-back [Ontario University Athletics] banners and had a chance at a
national championship two years in a row. You can’t ask for anything better
than that.”
Alberta’s Don Horwood was named the Aberdeen winner after steering the Golden
Bears to a 32-3 record despite having graduated an All-Canadian and five other
players. It was Horwood’s third Aberdeen,
having earlier won it in 1987 and 1994. In both of the latter years, the Bears
won a national title. “The wins and losses are all coaches care about,” said
Horwood. “This was a surprise since I was only named co-coach of the year in the
conference, which isn’t a resounding mandate. I thought I had an outside chance
but I didn’t give it a whole lot of thought.” Horwood’s Bears were 19-1 on the
regular season in Canada West play and 3-1 in the playoffs, capturing a berth
in the nationals as a wild card. “It’s true that a coach wins this award
because his team is good and they’ve played well. Each coach works just as hard
and the coach’s job is pretty much the same every year, give or take a few
things. This is a result of what the players do. If they’d have success on the
court, then it’s not possible for me to win coach of the year. This is basically
a team honour through our success.”
Wilfrid Laurier’s Chris Keith was named the Mullins winner. The Burlington native and 6-6 post averaged 13.2 ppg in 29.2 mpg. The geography major was a second-team OUA West all-star after helping the Golden Hawks achieve a remarkable turnaround from a 2-12 record in 2001 to a 12-10 regular season record.
Joining Kwiatkowski as 1st-team All-Canadian were: Robbie Valpreda (Alberta); Jafeth Maseruka (Carleton); Kyle Russell (U.B.C.); and Dennis Oliver (St. FX).
The 2nd team selections were: Mike Kierstead (New Brunswick); Michael Ayanbadejo (Guelph); Tyrone Smith (Brandon); Domenico Marcario (McGill) and Jim Grozelle (Western). …………………………………………………… Grozelle, who also won the Ken Shields Award for community service, said in his acceptance speech in Halifax that “I’m trying to get people to realize that they can be a leader, not only in their athletic lives, but also in the classroom and in the community.” Grozelle’s work off the court has included speaking at elementary and special school assemblies, playing in charity basketball games, volunteering as a basketball instructor in his hometown of Ridgetown Ont., heavily interacting with the Mustang Kids Club and helping establish the Mustang Tutorial Program. “It’s really been tough. My schedule this year has been incredibly hectic, but hopefully both basketball and school will all work out at the end of the year. I think [volunteering is] a really important thing to do and I’ve always enjoyed it my first three years at Western, so I didn’t want to give it up just because I was going into
[business]
school.”
Honorable mention was awarded to:
Charles Fortier (Laval); Robbie Smart (Carleton); Ryan French (York); Stephen
Parker (Alberta); and Keith Bustard (Victoria)