Posted: Mar 01, 2012
CBU's Dorsey claims MVP award
(HALIFAX, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2011-12 AUS men's basketball all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's eight head coaches following regular season play.
Fourth-year Cape Breton guard Jimmy Dorsey was named the Atlantic University Sport most valuable player, Thursday night.
Other AUS major award winners announced during the awards banquet at the Westin Nova Scotian in downtown Halifax, N.S., were SMU's Brian Rouse of Mississauga, Ont., who was named rookie of the year; Acadia's Owen Klassen of Kingston, Ont., who was selected as the defensive player of the year; Acadia's Thomas Filgiano of Markham, Ont., who received the student-athlete community service award; and first-year UPEI head coach Tim Kendrick, who was named the AUS coach of the year.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jimmy Dorsey, Cape Breton
Jimmy Dorsey, a fourth-year guard with the Cape Breton Capers, is the 2011-12 Atlantic University Sport men's basketball most valuable player.
A native of Baltimore, MD., Dorsey led the Atlantic conference in scoring this season with an average of 22.8 points per game, the fourth highest average in the nation and becomes the first ever player from the Capers program to capture the Frank Baldwin Trophy.
Now a three-time first team AUS all-star, Jimmy also led the conference in assists with 8.83 per game and steals with 2.78 per game. He also had a league-high 11 double-doubles, including two triple-doubles and finished fifth in rebounding (7.7 per game), sixth in free-throw percentage (83.5 per cent) and first in three-point field goals made, despite missing two games this season.
In January, Dorsey established a new CBU record with a 49-point performance in a win over Acadia, which ranks as the sixth highest total ever registered in an Atlantic conference game. His 159 assists are also a new school record and are second only in AUS history to former StFX star Randy Nohr, who had 168 assists in 2000-01.
"Jimmy has played exceptionally well throughout this season and he has been instrumental in keeping CBU highly competitive despite the challenges and obstacles this young team faced," says Cape Breton head coach Thom Gillespie. "Leading the conference in scoring and recording the second highest single-season assist total in AUS history speaks for itself, but it has been his willingness to rebound and his passion for winning that has revived the Capers program. Jimmy being named AUS MVP is a very well deserved honour."
Jimmy will now be the AUS representative for the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding player in CIS basketball. The last Atlantic conference player to win the CIS award was William Njoku of the Saint Mary's Huskies in 1992-93.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Brian Rouse, Saint Mary's
Rouse, a native of Mississauga, Ont., is the first Huskies player to claim the AUS rookie of the year award since Mark McLaughlin was named the top rookie following the 2005-06 season.
Brian, a 6-foot-3 guard, appeared in all 20 games this season, including 16 as a starter and averaged 30.3 minutes per game as a freshman.
He finished second in team scoring with an average of 13.9 points per game, and reached double figures in 17 of those games including three 20-point efforts.
"As his stats indicate, Brian has certainly had an outstanding rookie season," says Saint Mary's head coach Ross Quackenbush. "The poise he has demonstrated belies his inexperience as he has taken and made many key big shots down the stretch of close games."
Brian will represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the Dr. Peter Mullins trophy. Dalhousie's Shawn Plancke is the only Atlantic conference player to ever be named CIS Rookie of the Year.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Owen Klassen, Acadia
Klassen, a third-year student from Kingston, Ont., is the just the second Axemen player to be recognized as the AUS defensive player of the year, joining former Acadia standout Achuil Lual who was the 2007-08 recipient.
Owen, the 2009-10 AUS rookie of the year, had a solid junior season, leading the conference in rebounding (10.1 rebounds per game) and finishing ninth in scoring with an average of 16.4 points per game. He was the only player in the Atlantic conference to average a double-double this year.
The 6-foot-10 forward, who was a member of the Canadian squad that captured silver at the 26th Summer Universiade this past August in China, also tied for the AUS lead in blocked shots with an average of 1.50 per game.
According to head coach Steve Baur, Klassen is a key component in the Axemen's defensive scheme.
"Owen is major piece to our defense," says Baur. "He is the last line of defense and takes great pride at the back end. He always challenges shots, finishes off possessions with defensive rebounds, and cleans up a lot of mistakes we make on defense. His impact on the game is crucial for our success."
CBU's Phil Nkrumah and StFX's Garry Gallimore are the only AUS players to have been named CIS defensive player of the year since the inception of the award in 2004-05.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Tim Kendrick, UPEI
Kendrick, in his first year at the helm of the UPEI program, becomes the first Panthers men's basketball coach to be named AUS coach of the year since George Morrison was honoured following the 1995-96 season.
This year, he guided the Panthers to a third place finish in the Atlantic conference with a record of 13-7, just one year removed from UPEI missing the AUS post-season with a 7-13 record. The 13 regular season wins this year are also the most by a UPEI squad since 1993-94 when the Panthers also finished with a 13-7 mark.
His Panthers squad averaged an AUS leading 88.9 points per game and three of his UPEI players finished in the top 10 among AUS scorers.
Prior to arriving at UPEI, Tim served as the head coach of the Horton High School men's basketball team and also led the 2009 Nova Scotia squad at the Canada Games to a silver medal.
"Coach Kendrick has made an immediate, and very meaningful impact on Panther Sport and the Island with his contagious attitude," said Ron Annear, Director of Athletics at UPEI. "Tim is a strong basketball coach, and a positive motivator, with a contagious attitude. In his first year with our program, he has motivated his student-athletes to work their hardest, and be their best, on the court, in the class room and in the community. Tim has already transformed our program, re-engaged alumni and community support, and created an exciting/engaging atmosphere around Panther Basketball."
Kendrick will represent the AUS as the nominee for CIS Coach of the Year. StFX's Steve Konchalski (2000-01) is the last Atlantic conference head coach to win the Stuart W. Aberdeen Trophy as the nation's top university coach.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Thomas Filgiano, Acadia
Acadia University's Thomas Filgiano is the 2012 recipient of the student-athlete community service award and will be the Atlantic conference nominee for the prestigious Ken Shields Award.
A native of Markham, Ont., the 6-foot-3, second-year guard appeared in all 20 games for the Axemen this season, averaging 4.5 points per game. Last season Thomas emerged as a starter late in his freshman year which included a run to the AUS championship game and an appearance at the CIS Final 8 men's basketball championship.
A scoring and physical point guard, Tom has been a starter off and on this season and has been invaluable as a player off the bench with the highest amount of assists (58) on the Axemen roster in roughly 18 minutes of play per game.
Considered one of Acadia's top student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 Sessional GPA, Filgiano is a leader on and off the court and has the highest GPA on the men's basketball team. Off the court, Filgiano spends his time in the library, the classroom and as a Technical Assistant for Biomechanics, while maintaining an extensive community volunteer regime.
A member of the Acadia Players Association, Tom has been a volunteer with S.M.I.L.E., an innovative academic-based, yet volunteer-driven, program which offers children with varying disabilities a unique physical activity experience to improve their total development, for the last two years.
Filgiano is the first to donate his time to community, team and department initiatives including raising awareness and money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation; Swish for the Cure Charity basketball game; 'Movember'; and as a volunteer in the Wheels-2-Play Charity basketball game. Tom also donates countless hours to various Acadia Minor Basketball clinics and has been a volunteer coach with the AMB. He recently also joined several key Acadia athletes in a visit to West Hants School in a presentation and promotion of Literacy Week.
"Tom is a caring and determined person and it shows in all aspects of his life," says Acadia head coach Steve Baur. "He has great discipline to reach his goals but also carries a huge sense of community and puts always the team before himself. Tom's schedule would be intimidating to most, but he excels in all areas and is a wonderful ambassador for our team, Acadia University, and the AUS."
FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
The Atlantic University Sport first and second team all-stars were also announced Thursday, along with this year's all-rookie team.
First Team All-Stars:
Jimmy Dorsey, Cape Breton University (4th year - Baltimore, MD)
Owen Klassen, Acadia University (3rd year - Kingston, Ont.)
Terry Thomas, StFX University (2nd year - East Preston, N.S.)
Tory Fassett, Saint Mary's University (4th year - Columbia, MD)
Manock Lual, University of Prince Edward Island (5th year - Ottawa, Ont.)
Second Team All-Stars:
Jeremy Dunn, StFX University (4th year - Wolfville, N.S.)
Jonathan Cooper, University of Prince Edward Island (5th year - Mississauga, Ont.)
Anthony Sears, Acadia University (3rd year - Riverview, N.B.)
Robert Nortmann, Dalhousie University (5th year - Nassau, Bahamas)
Alex DesRoches, University of New Brunswick (5th year - Dieppe, N.B.)
All-Rookie Team:
Brian Rouse, Saint Mary's University (Mississauga, Ont.)
Ritchie Kanza Mata, Dalhousie University (Toronto, Ont.)
Sean Stoqua, Acadia University (Ottawa, Ont.)
Arild Geugjes, Cape Breton University (Landsmeer, Netherlands)
Marquis Clayton, StFX University (Halifax, N.S.)
The 2012 Subway Atlantic University Sport men's basketball championship gets under way this weekend at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, N.S.
The semifinals and final will be broadcast live on EastLink TV and live webcasts of all five games of the championship will be available at www.sportstream.ca.
The 2012 Subway Atlantic University Sport men's basketball championship schedule is as follows:
Friday, March 2nd
Quarter-final #1: Cape Breton (4th) vs. Dalhousie (5th), 6:00pm
Quarter-final #2: UPEI (3rd) vs. Saint Mary's (6th), 8:15pm
Saturday, March 3rd
Semifinal #1: StFX (1st) vs. Winner of QF #1, 6:00pm
Semifinal #2: Acadia (2nd) vs. Winner of QF #2, 8:15pm
Sunday, March 4th
Championship Game: Semifinal Winners, 2:00pm
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