OTTAWA (CIS) – Fourth-year UBC Thunderbirds guard Josh Whyte was named CIS player of the year in men’s basketball, Thursday night during the All-Canadian Banuqet at the Marriott Hotel in Ottawa.
The Calgary native became the fourth UBC recipient of the Mike Moser memorial trophy since the inception of the award in 1974-75. Kyle Russell was honoured in 2002-03, while J.D. Jackson was a back-to-back winner in 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Joining Whyte on the stage this evening was his T-Bird head coach Kevin Hanson of Vancouver, who captured a second Stuart W. Aberdeen memorial trophy as coach of the year.
Championship website
Other CIS major award winners announced during the gala event were Cape Breton forward Phillip Nkrumah of Malton, Ont., who was named the nation’s top defensive player; Brock guard Clinton Springer-Williams of London, Ont., who received the Dr. Peter Mullins trophy as rookie of the year; and Dalhousie’s Andrew Sullivan of Riverview, N.B., who received the Ken Shields award recognizing his excellence in basketball, academics and community involvement.
The 2010 CIS championship, hosted by Carleton University, gets underway Friday at Scotiabank Place in the nation’s capital and culminates Sunday at 6:30 p.m. with the gold-medal final, live on TSN2.
MIKE MOSER MEMORIAL TROPHY (player of the year): Josh Whyte, UBC
Whyte 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-foot-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 enjoyed one of the best seasons in program history. UBC was 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.”
Joining Whyte on the first squad were AUS most valuable player Upshaw, OUA East MVP Gibson-Bascombe, OUA West player of the year and McMaster forward Keenan Jeppesen of Stoney Creek, Ont., as well as CIS scoring champion Showron Glover of Saskatchewan, a guard from Fresno, California.
STUART W. ABERDEEN MEMORIAL TROPHY, presented by Coaches of Canada: Kevin Hanson, UBC
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. Before him, Bruce Enns was the only UBC coach to capture the award, doing so on three occasions (1995-96, 1990-91, 1989-90).
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. Thanks to these remarkable stats, 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.
Cape Breton’s Jim Charters, UQAM’s Olga Hrycak and Lakehead’s Scott Morrison were also finalists for the Aberdeen trophy.
2009-2010 CIS MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
Mike Moser memorial trophy (player of the year): Josh Whyte, UBC
Defensive player of the year: Phillip Nkrumah, Cape Breton
Dr. Peter Mullins trophy (rookie of the year): Clinton Springer-Williams, Brock
Stuart W. Aberdeen memorial trophy (coach of the year): Kevin Hanson, UBC
Ken Shields award (outstanding student-athlete / community service): Andrew Sullivan, Dalhousie
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