WILSON HEADLINES OCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS

OTTAWA - Algoma University's Jovain Wilson was named the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men's basketball player of the year in a ceremony held at Algonquin College on Wednesday evening as part of the 2012 OCAA Men's Basketball Championship.

Wilson (Pickering, Ont.) was one of just two OCAA players to surpass 400 points during the regular season, scoring 404. The fourth-year guard was also second in the league in three-pointers, shooting 59-of-143 from beyond the arc, a success rate of 41.3 percent. He also contributed 108 rebounds, 50 assists, 19 steals and three blocks.

Wilson scored less than 20 points in a game on only four occasions as the Algoma Thunderbirds soared to a 13-5 record in the OCAA West region, good for third place. Along with his player of the year award, Wilson is a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) all-Canadian, as well as an OCAA West Division first-team all-star.

The OCAA's other CCAA all-Canadian is Mohawk's Aminu Bello (Hamilton, Ont.). The OCAA West region scoring champion averaged 24.4 points per game for a total of 440. The fifth-year guard led the OCAA in field goals shooting 159-of-322, and free throws shooting 84-of-99. Bello is also an OCAA West Division first-team all-star.

Tristan Stern (Whitby, Ont.) of Centennial is the OCAA rookie of the year. The forward led the OCAA in field goal percentage, shooting 114-of-198 for a 57.6 percent success rate. Stern was second among OCAA players in blocks contributing 26. Stern averaged 15.6 points per game and grabbed 167 rebounds. Stern was also named the East rookie of the year, and is a member of the East Division first-team all-stars and all-rookie team.

Durham guard Rob Gagliardi (Whitby, Ont.) was honoured as the OCAA scoring champion. The OCAA East region scoring leader averaged 25.0 points per game for a total of 375 points in 15 games.  

Jim Barclay of Centennial is the OCAA nominee for CCAA coach of the year. Named the top coach in the OCAA East region, Barclay led his Colts to an 11-game turnaround from a season ago, finishing with an 18-2 record and an OCAA East region championship. Centennial finished a sub-.500 the previous three seasons.

Mohawk's Brian Jonker is the OCAA West coach of the year. Jonker saw his Mountaineers improve on its 2010-11 record by two games, including wins over Humber, Sheridan and Fanshawe, all OCAA medalists last season. Mohawk finished with a 13-5 record, and has won 11 or more games in four of the past five seasons.

Alex Campbell (Brampton, Ont.) of Niagara is the OCAA West rookie of the year. The guard led the Knights in scoring averaging 18.1 points per game for a total of 326. He is a member of the West second-team all-stars and its all-rookie team.

Centennial's Natiel McKenzie and Niagara's Rashad Morley were named defensive players of the year in the East and West regions, respectively. A first-year guard, McKenzie (Scarborough, Ont.) recorded a league-high 64 steals. McKenzie is also a member of the East all-rookie team. Morley, a third-year forward from the Bahamas, led the OCAA with 208 rebounds. He also contributed 12 blocks.

Along with Stern, Max Clarkson (Peterborough, Ont.) of Fleming-Peterborough, Algonquin's Romaine Lawrence (Toronto), Shane Rowe (Barrie, Ont.) of Georgian, and Terence Thomas (Ottawa) of St. Lawrence-Kingston are East region first-team all-stars.

Joining Wilson and Bello as West region first-team all-stars are Khalid Abdel-Gabar (Mississauga, Ont.) of Sheridan, Jordan Dixon (Kitchener, Ont.) of Fanshawe and Akeem Sween (Mississauga, Ont.) of West regional champion Humber.

OCAA East second-team all-stars include Loyalist's Damone Donaldson (Ajax, Ont.); Warsama Elmi (Ottawa) of La Cite; Centennial's Justin Jarrett (Ajax, Ont.); Tyler McGarrity (Ajax, Ont.) of Durham; and Algonquin's Chris Mooney (Ottawa).

Manny Campbell (Burlington, Ont.) of Mohawk; Sheridan's Denmark McDonald (Mississauga, Ont.); Dele Oworu (Winnipeg) of Algoma; and Humber's Mark Perrin (Toronto) join Campbell as OCAA West second-team all-stars.

Joining Stern and McKenzie on the OCAA East all-rookie team are Mark Brown (Toronto) of Georgian, Jahmal Edwards (Kingston, Ont.) of St. Lawrence-Kingston and Algonquin's Jordan Scott.

The OCAA West all-rookie team consists of Campbell; Algoma's Reynaldo Carnakie (Toronto); Anthony DeRose (Belle River, Ont.) of St. Clair; Lambton's Mike Lucier (Forest, Ont.); and Ashton Stephenson (Brampton, Ont.) of Niagara.

2011-12 OCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL MAJOR AWARDS

OCAA Player of the Year
Jovain Wilson, Algoma

CCAA All-Canadians
Aminu Bello, Mohawk
Jovain Wilson, Algoma

OCAA Rookie of the Year
Tristan Stern, Centennial

OCAA League Scoring Champion
Rob Gagliardi, Durham

CCAA Coach of the Year Nominee
Jim Barclay, Centennial

OCAA East Division Scoring Champion
Rob Gagliardi, Durham

OCAA West Division Scoring Champion
Aminu Bello, Mohawk

OCAA East Division Coach of the Year
Jim Barclay, Centennial

OCAA West Division Coach of the Year
Brian Jonker, Mohawk

OCAA East Division Rookie of the Year
Tristan Stern, Centennial

OCAA West Division Rookie of the Year
Alex Campbell, Niagara

OCAA East Division Defensive Player of the Year
Natiel McKenzie, Centennial

OCAA West Division Defensive Player of the Year
Rashad Morley, Niagara

OCAA East Division Champions
Centennial Colts

OCAA West Division Champion
Humber Hawks

OCAA East Division First-Team All-Stars
Max Clarkson, Fleming-Peterborough
Romaine Lawrence, Algonquin
Shane Rowe, Georgian
Tristan Stern, Centennial
Terence Thomas, St. Lawrence-Kingston

OCAA West Division First-Team All-Stars
Khalid Abdel-Gabar, Sheridan
Aminu Bello, Mohawk
Jordan Dixon, Fanshawe
Akeem Sween, Humber
Jovain Wilson, Algoma

OCAA East Division Second-Team All-Stars
Damone Donaldson, Loyalist
Warsama Elmi, La Cite
Justin Jarrett, Centennial
Tyler McGarrity, Durham
Chris Mooney, Algonquin

OCAA West Division Second-Team All-Stars
Alex Campbell, Niagara
Manny Campbell, Mohawk
Denmark McDonald, Sheridan
Dele Oworu, Algoma
Mark Perrin, Humber

OCAA East Division All-Rookie Team
Mark Brown, Georgian
Jahmal Edwards, St. Lawrence-Kingston
Natiel McKenzie, Centennial
Jordan Scott, Algonquin
Tristan Stern, Centennial

OCAA West Division All-Rookie Team
Alex Campbell, Niagara
Reynaldo Carnakie, Algoma
Anthony DeRose, St. Clair
Mike Lucier, Lambton
Ashton Stephenson, Niagara

- OCAA -

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The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 31 members sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.

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Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
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E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com