Fourth-year U.B.C. guard Josh Whyte is named the recipient of the Moser. The Calgary native was among the Canada West leaders in numerous statistical categories in 2009-10 finishing fourth (13th CIS) in scoring with 19.1 points per game, sixth in both field goal percentage (53.8) and assists (4.2), and fifth in steals (2.4). He also maintained the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference at 1.7 and chipped in with five rebounds per outing, putting up all of these numbers while playing only 28.8 minutes per contest. The 6-2 senior led or tied for the team lead in scoring eight times in 18 league games and had a team-high in assists on nine separate occasions. He scored a season-high 28 points twice and tallied more than 20 points six times during the regular season. Behind Whyte’s stellar play, the Thunderbirds were ranked first or second in each of the 14 national coaches’ polls this year and posted a 17-1 record for a CIS-best .944 winning percentage in conference play. The combination of his playmaking and finishing on offence was a big reason why UBC ranked second in Canada West in scoring (85.8 points per game) and first in field goal percentage (47.4) and scoring margin (+17.7). One of the top defenders in the league, Whyte also anchored a T-Bird squad that held opponents to a league-low 38.0% field goal shooting and 68.1 points per game. A first-time all-Canadian and three-time Canada West all-star, Whyte represented Canada at the 2009 Summer Universiade in Belgrade, Serbia. Prior to joining UBC last season, he played for the Victoria Vikes in 2006-07 after starting his collegiate career with Mount Royal College of the ACAC. “Josh has had an outstanding year for us. After representing Canada at the FISU Games last summer, he came home with new inspiration and dedication to basketball,” said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. “He has made himself stronger and fitter and this has paid off with big dividends. He has been our leader on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, our most inspirational player, and has led our team in almost every statistical category. Josh has frequently elevated his game at crucial times for us and has the ability to take over games. He has had a huge impact on our team’s success.” Whyte was honoured to become the third Thunderbird and the second straight Canada West player (after Trinity Western’s Jacob Doerksen) to win the Moser. “I’m a little surprised and little overwhelmed but very excited.” Hanson said it was clear from the start of the season that Whyte had benefited from a summer spent with Canada’s national student team. “He came back with way more maturity, a lot more desire and a whole lot more confidence. He finally got a sense that he could play.” Whyte said Hanson deserves much of the credit for his improved play. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever had. He’s a player’s coach. He’s not just a coach-coach. It’s not just basketball, basketball, basketball. He’s always wondering how you’re doing in school and how you’re doing in life and we all appreciate that.”
U.B.C. coach
Kevin Hanson is named recipient of the Aberdeen. A four-time Canada West coach
of the year in his 10 seasons at the helm of the Thunderbirds, Hanson first
received the Aberdeen trophy back in 2005-06. This season, Hanson’s T-Birds
were ranked first or second in each of the 14 weekly national polls, earning
eight first-place nods. UBC claimed its fifth straight Pacific Division crown
and finished first overall in Canada West thanks to a 17-1 mark and a CIS-best
.944 winning percentage, en route to a seventh CIS championship berth in eight
years. The ‘Birds were impressive on both sides of the ball in 2009-10. They
finished second in Canada West scoring offence (85.8 points per game) thanks in
part to their league-leading 47.4 field goal percentage and second-best 16.4 assists
per game. They were equally strong on defence, allowing a conference-low 68.1
points per game and holding their opponents to a league-low 38.0% field goal
shooting, including only 29.7% from three-point land. UBC forced its opponents
into making more than 20 turnovers per night, picked up 10 steals per contest,
and was one of the league’s best rebounding teams, hauling in 42.2 boards per
duel. The T-Birds owned the conference’s best scoring margin at +17.7. It was
also a milestone year for Hanson, who picked up his 500th win at the collegiate/university
level. He reached that mark after a combined 19 years at the helm of Langara
College and UBC. Hanson has been involved with Canada Basketball for several
years. He led the national development team to Universiade bronze in 2003 in
Korea and was also the head coach of Canada’s entry at the 2005 FISU Games in
Turkey. Hanson led the T-Birds back to nationals despite losing three starters,
including Chris Dyck. “It was an adjustment. It took us a while to find a rotation
that we liked but a lot of it was really just confidence coming off of last
year. And a lot of guys were ready to step up, particularly Josh, who has just
been absolutely unbelievable.” Cape Breton’s Jim Charters, UQAM’s Olga Hrycak
and Lakehead’s Scott Morrison were also finalists for the Aberdeen trophy.
Brock guard Clinton Springer-Williams
is named recipient of the Mullins Award. The London, Ont. native became the
second Badger in as many years to claim the Mullins. The 6-4 freshman, who
plays both guard and forward, topped all CIS rookies with 21.2 points per game,
which was good for sixth overall in the nation and third in Ontario. He ended
up in the OUA Top 10 in three other offensive categories placing fifth in field
goals made (143), fourth in free throws made (121) and eighth in free throw
percentage (82.3). He also reached double figures in scoring in 30 of 31
overall contests for the Badgers including 13 games with 20 points or more, six
with 30 or more, and a season-high 40-point performance in his final outing of
the campaign against Laurier. Named an OUA West first-team all-star,
Springer-Williams moved into the Brock Top 10 in three single-season categories
including scoring average, points and free throws made. He became just the
third rookie in school history to lead the team in scoring joining Didi Mukendi
and current head coach Ken Murray. “Clinton has had one of the best seasons I
have seen by a rookie in my 30-plus years of coaching,” Murray said. “He has
clearly shown people across the country his pure athleticism and scoring
ability.” Acadia forward Owen Klassen of Kingston, Ont., McGill point guard
Olivier Bouchard of Montreal and Alberta guard Jordan Baker of Edmonton were
the other nominees for the Dr. Mullins trophy.
Phillip Nkrumah of Cape Breton is
named Defensive Player of the year. Nkrumah is the first Caper to be named CIS
defensive player of the year since the inception of the award in 2004-05. He
was also the AUS nominee a year ago, when he was a second-team all-Canadian.
The fourth-year power forward led the Atlantic conference in
defensive rebounding (6.3 per game), ranked third in both rebounds (8.1) and
steals (2.6) per game, and finished 11th in blocked shots (1.1). His solid
play, which included six “double-doubles”, helped the AUS regular season and playoff
champion Capers average a CIS-leading 95.1 points per contest while holding
their opponents to 76.5 points per night, good for third place in the Atlantic.
As a team, CBU also led the league in blocked shots and steals. The 6-4 senior,
who also chipped in offensively this season with 11.7 points per outing, was a
member of the Canadian development national team that competed in the Belgrade
Universiade last summer. “Phil is one of likely only a few players in CIS who
can guard every position on the floor 1 through 5,” said Cape Breton head coach
Jim Charters. “He is a terrific rebounder whose anticipation skills allow him
to deflect and steal many passes. His strength and quickness have helped him
become one of the top post defenders in the country.” UQAM guard Éric
Côté-Kougnima of Gatineau, Que., Lakehead guard Greg Carter of Ottawa and
Thompson Rivers forward Greg Stewart of Kamloops, B.C., were also in the running
for defensive-MVP honours. Nkrumah was the obvious choice as defensive player
of the year, said Cape Breton coach Jim Charters. “Phil’s one of the few
players in Canada who can guard all five positions on the court. He’s guarded
one through five and he led the league in rebounding and steals last year.
There’s not many guys that do that.”
Joining White and Gibson-Bascombe on the All-Canadian first team were Joshua Gibson-Bascome (Ottawa); Christian Upshaw (St. Francis Xavier); Showron Glover (Saskatchewan); and Keenan Jeppesen (McMaster). …………………………………………………… Gibson-Bascombe was the OUA East most valuable player. He was selected a second-team All-Canadian a year earlier. The fifth-year guard was one of four players to average more than 20 points per game, averaging 20.1 in 22 games. He scored a total of 443 points. Gibson-Bascombe led all of OUA with 137 assists and 53 steals. He also contributed 107 rebounds and eight blocks. Gibson-Bascombe shot 45.8 percent from the field on 140-of-306 shooting. …………………………………………………… Upshaw was the repeat AUA most valuable player and a repeat selection as a first-team All-Canadian. The fourth-year guard from Halifax, NS, and the 2006-07 AUS Rookie of the Year, finished third in league scoring this year with a 19.5 points per game average. He also led the conference in assists (6.00 per game), ranked fourth in AUS steals (2.30 per game) and was seventh in free-throw percentage (81.4 per cent). He appeared in all 20 regular season games for the 18-2 X-Men. He scored 20 or more points on 11 occasions this year and broke the 30-point barrier twice. In just four seasons with the StFX program, Upshaw is already the StFX school leader in career steals with 162 and his 386 career assists rank him third in X-Men history. “Christian had another phenomenal year for us,” comments StFX head coach Steve Konchalski. “He is a leader for our program who has done it all for the X-Men this year, helping us to an 18-2 regular season record and a consistent top 5 national ranking. His selection as AUS MVP is the first time I can recall a 5’10” point guard ever winning back-to-back league honours.” …………………………………………………… Glover, from Fresno, California, was the CIS scoring champion at 28.1 ppg. …………………………………………………… Jeppesen, from Stoney Creek, Ont., was the OUA West most valuable player. The fifth-year forward formerly of the Western Mustangs scored 375 points this season, averaging 19.7 in 19 games, the second-best average in the division. Jeppesen led all OUA players in steals per game, averaging 2.42 for a total of 46. He was also second among West players with an average of 8.63 rebounds per game for a total of 164. Jeppesen was a 50 percent shooter from the field going 125-of-250, and contributed 62 assists and 20 blocks. Jeppesen was also an OUA West first-team all-star.
The second-team featured: Kevin McCleery (Carleton); Ross Bekkering (Calgary); Matthew Thornhill (McGill); Joel Haywood (Saint Mary’s) and Andrew Wedemire (Western Ontario).
…………………………………………………… McCleery, from Ottawa, Ont. was a first-team OUA East all-star. …………………………………………………… Bekkering, from Taber, Alta, was a second-team All-Canadian a year earlier. …………………………………………………… Thornhill, from Ile Bizard, Que., was selected Quebec’s MVP. Playing most of the season with a broken nose, Thornhill never missed a beat finishing first in league scoring with an average of 18.3 points per game. The fourth-year finance student was second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (45.8%) averaging 2.4 buckets per game from beyond the arc. He was equally impressive from the charity stripe, finishing the campaign third among all players in free-throw shooting percentage at 79.3%. …………………………………………………… Haywood, from Vancouver, B.C., is a third-year guard. …………………………………………………… Wedemire, from Sarnia, Ont.,
Springer-Williams was joined on the all-rookie team by Jordan Baker (Alberta), Owen Klassen (Acadia), Olivier Bouchard (McGill) and Emanuel Pasquale (Laurentian). …………………………………………………… Springer-Williams, from London, Ont., was OUA West rookie of the year. He was one of four OUA players to average more than 20 points per game this season. His 21.2 points per game for a total of 424 led all West players. He also contributed a team-high 123 rebounds and 28 steals to go along with 25 assists and three blocks. He was also an OUA West first-team all-star. …………………………………………………… Baker was selected Canada West rookie of the year. The 6’7’’, 205 pound, 18-year-old son of former Alberta standouts Doug and Trix Baker led Alberta with 13.7 points per game, 17th overall in Canada West, and was second in Canada West with 9.1 rebounds per contest. With a young roster, Baker and the Golden Bears went 10-10 on the season, qualifying for the post-season. Coach Greg Francis, in his first year as Alberta bench boss, said, “Jordan has found a way to impress our coaching staff each and every day, and in practice and games. He has a great feel for the game of basketball, but it is rare to find an athlete that plays as hard as he does as a rookie. The sky is the limit for Jordan, and I know he will continue to improve because of his strong work ethic.” …………………………………………………… Klassen, from Kingston, Ont., led all freshmen in league rebounding this season with an average of 7.6 per game, ranking him sixth overall in the conference. Owen averaged 10.5 points per game as a freshman and also ranked sixth in AUS blocks and eighth in AUS field-goal percentage (50.0 per cent). “As the season has progressed, Owen became a bigger and more dominant factor for us at both ends of the floor,” says Axemen head coach Steve Baur. “We’ve relied on him heavily this year and look forward to his contributions heading into the playoffs and in the years to come.” Klassen’s five double-doubles was tops among all first-year players. …………………………………………………… Bouchard, from Montreal, Que., and Montmorency College, was chosen Quebec rookie of the year. The shortest player on the Redmen squad at 5’10”, Bouchard overcame concerns about his size to find a place in the starting rotation for McGill. The former Montmorency College Nomades player finished his inaugural season with 9.9 points per game and 3.7 assists. The management student drained 39.8% of his field goal attempts, went 34.8% from beyond the three-point line and drained 79.6% of his free throws. …………………………………………………… Pasquale, from Victoria, B.C., was OUA East rookie of the year. He led all Laurentian players with 332 points, 73 assists and 22 steals. He also contributed 74 rebounds and six blocks. Pasquale is not only a member of the East all-rookie team, but also a second-team all-star.