Jackson named AUS MVP; Ngangu takes top defensive honour
A pair of STFX X-Men took home two major award honours as the AUS announced it's men's basketball winners today.
A pair of STFX X-Men took home two major award honours as the AUS announced it's men's basketball winners today. Third year guard D.J. Jackson was named the most valuable player of the confernece, while teammate Jeff Ngandu is the 2025 AUS defensive player of the year. Jackson was also named an AUS first team all-star, and guard Gatluak James is an AUS second team all-star. The complete release from Atlantic University Sport follows.
2024-25 AUS men's basketball major awards and all-stars announced
STFX's D.J. Jackson named AUS MVP
(HALIFAX, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2024-25 AUS men's basketball all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's eight head coaches following regular season play.
STFX X-Men guard D.J. Jackson was chosen as this year's AUS men's basketball most valuable player.
Other major award winners include Acadia's Ryan Regault, named AUS rookie of the year; STFX's Jeff Ngandu, named defensive player of the year; UPEI's Kamari Scott, recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award; and UPEI head coach Darrell Glenn who was named AUS coach of the year for the first time in his career.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: D.J. Jackson, STFX X-Men
D.J. Jackson, a guard with the STFX X-Men, has been named the 2024-25 AUS men's basketball most valuable player.
A human kinetics student in his third year of eligibility from Mississauga, Ont., Jackson was the U SPORTS scoring champion this season, averaging 24.4 points per game.
He averaged 7.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for the X-Men, and led the conference in steals, averaging 2.2 per game.
He led AUS in free throws (124-144) and had the best free throw percentage (86.1).
Jackson led the U SPORTS no. 8-ranked X-Men to a 15-5 regular season record, a first-place finish in the AUS standings and a first-round bye through to Saturday's playoff semifinals.
In addition to league MVP nods, he was also named to the AUS First Team All-Star squad today.
This marks the first time a STFX player has earned conference MVP honours since former X-Men standout Kevin Bercy in 2016-17.
Jackson now becomes the AUS representative for the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding player in U SPORTS basketball. The last Atlantic conference player to win the national award was William Njoku of the Saint Mary's Huskies in 1992-93.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Ryan Regault, Acadia Axemen
The 2024-25 AUS Rookie of the Year is Ryan Regault from the Acadia Axemen.
A six-foot guard from Scarborough, Ont., Regault played in 17 games for the Axemen this season, getting the start in 11 of them.
He led all freshmen scorers this season, averaging 12.4 points per game. He also finished second in AUS in assists—averaging 4.9 per game.
Regault's Rookie of the Year nod marks the first time since the 2014-15 season that a player from the Axemen has taken home the honour.
In addition to being named the conference's top rookie, Regault was named to the AUS All-Rookie Team today.
He will now represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the Dr. Peter Mullins trophy as U SPORTS rookie of the year.
The last player from the Atlantic conference to be named U SPORTS rookie of the year was Saint Mary's Nikita Kasongo, who took home the award in 2017-18.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jeff Ngandu, STFX X-Men
Jeff Ngandu of the STFX X-Men basketball team is the 2024-25 AUS men's basketball defensive player of the year.
A forward in his third year of eligibility from Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ngandu averaged 8.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season—the X-Men's leading rebounder.
He also finished third in the conference in blocks with 37 on the season—an average of 2.3 per game.
STFX finished atop the conference standings with a 15-5 regular season record, earning a first-round bye through to the playoff semifinals.
Ngandu is the third player from STFX to earn the AUS defensive player of the year award since its inception in 2004-05. Former X-Men standout David Muenkat earned the honour in 2022-23 and STFX's Garry Gallimore took home the honour in three consecutive seasons from 2004-05 to 2006-07.
Ngandu now becomes the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS defensive player of the year award. STFX's Muenkat is the most recent Atlantic conference player to earn the national honour, which he took home in 2022-23.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Kamari Scott, UPEI Panthers
Kamari Scott of the UPEI Panthers is the 2024-25 recipient of the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award and will be the Atlantic conference nominee for the prestigious Ken Shields Award.
Scott worked hard on the court, in the classroom and in the community this season.
A business student in his final year of eligibility from Mississauga, Ont., he averaged 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game this season for the Panthers.
He is a two-time all-star, having been named an AUS First Team All-Star this season and an AUS Second Team All-Star last season.
Successful in the classroom as well as on the court, Scott achieved Academic All-Canadian status last season and was the UPEI nominee for AUS's prestigious James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award.
He was also the recipient of the U SPORTS and BlackNorth Initiative's Athletes on Track bursary.
Scott lends his time to a number of community initiatives, both on and off campus. He has been active with UPEI youth basketball camps, visits to local schools and has organized opportunities for youth in the community to come watch the Panthers' games and meet the players.
He also serves as a youth basketball official—refereeing games at local middle schools and high schools.
On campus, he is a member of UPEI's Sports Industry Society, as well as the Black Student Association.
Scott has volunteered his time with initiatives and organizations such as the United Way, Bell Let's Talk, Shoot for the Cure, and Extra Awesome—which supports young people with Down syndrome.
"Kam embodies what the student-athlete experience should be about," said Panthers head coach Darrell Glenn. "He is a well-respected person on campus and in the community. I have seen a tremendous amount of growth in Kamari over his five-year career and the biggest takeaway for me is his understanding and willingness to give back to the community. He is a special young man that brightens up any room he enters, and he makes everyone in the room feel important."
Scott is the third player from the Panthers to earn this honour. UPEI's John Alex Vos won it most recently in 2022-23.
Scott now becomes the AUS nominee for the national Ken Shields Award. No UPEI player has ever earned the national award.
Nine former AUS athletes have previously taken home the Ken Shields Award. Former Dalhousie Tigers standout Sven Stammberger was the most recent winner in 2017-18.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Darrell Glenn, UPEI Panthers
In his eighth season at the helm of the UPEI Panthers program, Darrell Glenn has been selected by his peers as AUS Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.
Coach Glenn's Panthers posted a 12-8 regular season record this year, finishing second in the conference standings and earning a bye through to the playoff semifinals.
His UPEI squad held opponents to an average of just 70.0 points per game, better than any other team in the AUS. They held opponents to the fewest field goal attempts, and forced the most turnovers per game (17.3).
The Panthers also led the league in steals per game, averaging 8.9.
Coach Glenn and his Panthers squad enter the AUS championship looking for UPEI's first men's basketball title since 2002-03.
Glenn's Coach of the Year nod marks the first time since the 2011-12 season that a UPEI coach has earned the honour. Former Panthers bench boss Tim Kendrick took home the award that season.
Glenn will now represent the AUS as the nominee for U SPORTS Coach of the Year. No UPEI coach has ever won the national honour.
Dalhousie head coach Rick Plato is the most recent Atlantic conference recipient of the U SPORTS Coach of the Year award. He earned the honour in 2019-20.
FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
First Team All Stars:
D.J. Jackson, STFX (3rd year – Mississauga, Ont.)
Shakael Pryce, Cape Breton (5th year – Pickering, Ont.)
Flynn Boardman-Raffet, Memorial (4th year – London, United Kingdom)
Jasha'jaun Downey, Saint Mary's (2nd year – North Preston, N.S.)
Kamari Scott, UPEI (5th year – Mississauga, Ont.)
Second Team All Stars:
Marcus Barnes, UNB (3rd year – Kitchener, Ont.)
Glen Cox, Acadia (4th year – Scotsburn, N.S.)
Gatluak James, STFX (4th year – Windsor, Ont.)
Eliel Nsoseme, Saint Mary's (5th year – Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Tyson Cato, Cape Breton (4th year – St. Catharines, Ont.)
All-Rookie Team:
Ryan Regault, Acadia (Scarborough, Ont.)
Hugo Bermejo, UPEI (Madrid, Spain)
Liai Tong, Cape Breton (St. John's, N.L.)
Austin Thomson, Dalhousie (Newmarket, Ont.)
Donovan Reid, Acadia (Sackville, N.S.)
The 2025 Bell AUS Basketball Championships will be hosted by the AUS conference at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S., Feb. 28 to March 2. Each doubleheader will feature one women's game and one men's game.
All games of the championship will be streamed live on AUStv.
For more information on the 2025 Bell AUS Basketball Championships, visit the event website at: www.AUSHoops.ca. Single session tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster here.
The 2025 INDOCHINO U SPORTS Women's and Men's Final 8 Basketball Championships are being hosted together March 13-16 in Vancouver, B.C.
The Atlantic conference is guaranteed only one berth in each championship, which will be awarded to the AUS champions.
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