Williamsburg, Va. - The William and Mary men's basketball
team announced its 2011-12 award winners at the program's annual banquet on
Saturday night at the Crowne Plaza. Senior
Quinn McDowell highlighted the night
for the College, winning the program's Most Valuable Player Award for the
second straight season.
McDowell led the Tribe in scoring at
12.5 points per game and finished his career as one of only four players in
school history with more than 1600 career points and 500 career rebounds. He
became the first player in CAA history to win the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award
on two occasions (2011 and 2012). McDowell was named a Second-Team Lowe's
Senior CLASS All-American after being the first CAA men's basketball player to
be named one of 10 finalists for the national award. An honorable mention
All-State selection for the third straight season, McDowell averaged 4.8
rebounds per game in 2012 and finished his career as the program's all-time
leader in games and minutes played.
Along with taking home the MVP award,
McDowell received the Tribe's statistical free throw shooting award for the
third straight year. He ranked 13th in the CAA at 76.9 percent and finished his
career ranked sixth in career free throw shooting, while hitting the 12th most
freebies in W&M history. McDowell also took home of the Arete Award, which
is bestowed on the Tribe player with the highest cumulative grade point
average. He was the CAA men's basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2012
and is a three-time CAA All-Academic Team selection.
Senior
Kendrix Brown and junior
Matt Rum each took home a pair of awards on the night. Brown was voted the Mark
Batzel Award winner as well as the team's Defensive Player of the Year by vote
of his teammates. The Mark Batzel Award is given to the player that displays
leadership, determination, mental toughness and heart, while having the ability
to instill those qualities in his teammates. Brown became only the 13th player
in W&M history with more than 200 career assists and 100 career steals. He
ranks 15th all-time in career steals at W&M, while having played in 116
career games with 63 starts. This season, he averaged four points and 4.3
rebounds per game and led the Tribe in steals with 32. Often drawing the
assignment of the team's top offensive player, Brown held AP
All-American Marcus Denmon of Missouri to seven points on 3-of-11 shooting
after Denmon entered the game averaging nearly 21 points per game. The 6-3
Tribe guard also held Miami of Ohio's top scorer Julian Mavunga, a 6-8,
240-pound forward, to just 3-of-10 from the floor.
Rum received the statistical award for
assists after leading the Tribe with 54 on the year. The Baltimore, Md.,
native also topped W&M in assist-to-turnover ratio and ranks among the top
12 in school history in the category. He dished out a career-high tying six
assists against UNCW on Feb. 4. Rum was voted the team's Most Improved Player
by his teammates as well. After spending countless in the gym during the offseason,
Rum saw his shooting percentages, scoring, minutes and rebounding improve,
while his turnovers went down and his defense improved. He finished the year
averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, while leading the team in
3-point field goal percentage (37.3) and shooting a career-high 41.2 percent
from the field.
Senior
JohnMark Ludwick took home of the 'Kraze' Award,
given in honor of former Tribe team captain John Kratzer. The award is
named in honor Kratzer, who received the inaugural United States Basketball
Writers Association Most Courageous Athlete award. Kratzer lettered two years
with the Tribe, before being diagnosed with cancer and battled the disease for
three more years. Throughout the ordeal, he continued to provide an inspiration
to the Tribe and provided the major emotional lift that allowed the College to
upset No. 2 North Carolina, 78-75, on Dec. 7, 1977. After suffering an injury
during the preseason that cost him the majority of his senior campaign, Ludwick
returned late in the season and made a huge impact off the bench, scoring 10
points and pulling down five rebounds in the Tribe's 75-71 win over Hofstra on
Feb. 22. Ludwick finished his W&M career, ranking fourth all-time in
3-point field goal percentage, while sitting among the top 20 in career
3-pointers made.
Sophomore forward
Tim Rusthoven took home the Tribe statistical award for rebounding. He
topped the College and ranked 11th in the CAA at 6.6 rebounds per game. He
pulled down eight or more rebounds on 10 occasions in 2012, including four
double-digit performances. Rusthoven ranked 10th in the CAA in double-doubles
as he was among the top 30 in the CAA in scoring at 10.3 points per game. He
pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds at VCU on Jan. 19 and tallied his first
career double-double while adding 10 points.
McDowell,
Brown and Ludwick were presented with Captain's Cups after serving as the
Tribe's leaders during the 2011-12 season. It marked the second straight season
in which Brown and McDowell were team captains. Head coach
Tony Shaver also
announced the Tribe's 2012-13 captains, which were voted on by their teammates.
The program's captains for next season will be seniors
Doug Howard,
Andrew Pavloff and
Matt Rum along with redshirt junior
Kyle Gaillard. Longtime voice
of the Tribe Jay Colley was named the recipient of W&M's Sixth Man Award
for his hard work and dedication to the program. Colley recently concluded his
28th season broadcasting Tribe basketball.
Men's Basketball Awards
Team MVP: Quinn McDowell
Most Improved: Matt Rum
Kraze Award: JohnMark Ludwick
Mark Batzel Award: Kendrix Brown
Arete Award: Quinn McDowell
Assists Award: Matt Rum
Defense Award: Kendrix Brown
Rebound Award: Tim Rusthoven
Free Throw Award: Quinn McDowell
Captain's Cups: Kendrix Brown,
Quinn McDowell and
JohnMark Ludwick
Sixth Man Award: Jay Colley
