Tribe Hands Out End of the Year Awards

Senior Laimis Kisielius was named the Tribe's 2007-08 Most Valuable Player.

04/15/08 12:45PM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary men’s basketball team handed out its yearly awards at its annual banquet on April 11 and celebrated the culmination of another record-breaking season. The 2007-08 campaign saw the Tribe advance to the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Game for the first time in school history and win 17 games for only the sixth time in the program’s annals.

Senior Laimis Kisielius took home the Tribe’s most valuable player award. The Vilnius, Lithuania native departs the College as only the 22nd player in school history to score 1,100 points in his career. Kisielius was a Third-Team All-CAA selection and was a driving force behind the Tribe’s run in the CAA Tournament. The 6-8 forward averaged 16.8 points per game during the league tournament, including scoring 23 in the semifinal victory over top-seed VCU and 22 points in the title tilt versus George Mason on his way to earning CAA All-Championship Team honors in the process. On the year, Kisielius led the Tribe in scoring at 11.3 points per game.

Sophomore David Schneider and junior Peter Stein walked away with the most hardware at the awards banquet, taking home three accolades apiece. Schneider received a pair of statistical awards in assists and free throw shooting, while also taking home the Kraze Award for the second straight season. Stein received the rebounding, defense and toughness awards.

Schneider became only the second player to garner the Kraze Award on two occasions, joining Carl Parker. The award was named after John Kratzer, who was the captain of the Tribe in 1977-78. He 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. Schneider garnered CAA All-Academic First-Team honors along with being named the CAA Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year during his sophomore champaign.

Schneider topped the Tribe in assists and free throw shooting. He finished the year with 124 assists, which ranked fourth in W&M school history. The Phoenix, Ariz., native also turned in an outstanding assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.21, which ranked second in the CAA and 39th nationally. His turned in an exceptional 9.0 assist-to-turnover ration at the CAA Tournament on his way to CAA All-Championship Team honors. In the four games at the league tourney, Schneider only turned the ball over twice compared to 18 assists. He also ranked among the conference and national leaders in free throw shooting. His 85.5 percent from the charity stripe ranked second in the CAA and 37th nationally.

Stein took home the Tribe rebounding award after topping the squad with 4.8 boards per game both overall and in CAA play. He became the first player to tally double-digit rebounds in a game in over two years when he pulled down 11 at Northeastern on Feb. 9. In the College’s CAA semifinal win over regular-season champion VCU, Stein pulled down a team and game-high nine rebounds. The 6-9 forward was also voted the Tribe’s top defender by his teammates and coaches. Stein drew the opponents top low-post scorer on a nightly basis and helped the Tribe in ranking among the CAA leaders in scoring defense and defensive field goal percentage. He also topped the Tribe in charges taken with 20.

Stein also took home the Tribe’s toughness award. Based on the Tribe’s toughness chart, designed and implemented by director of basketball operations Jamie Smith, Stein topped the list. The toughness chart is derived from statistics such as charges taken, offensive and defensive rebounds, extra effort plays, etc.

Sophomore Danny Sumner received the Tribe’s most improved player award after enjoying a breakout season for the College. The Fairfax, Va., native started 22 games for the College, finished third on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game and shot 50.4 percent from the field, which ranked seven in the CAA. The College was 14-8 with Sumner in the starting line up, and he averaged 12.1 points per game in the Green and Gold starting five. Sumner enjoyed his coming out party in the CAA Tournament, averaging 15.5 points per game to go along with five rebounds.

Senior Chris Stratton was honored with the Mark Batzel Award for player that displays leadership, determination, mental toughness and heart, while having the ability to instill those qualities in his teammates. Stratton, a walk-on, worked his way into the Tribe rotation and provided valuable minutes for the Green and Gold throughout the 2007-08 season. He appeared in 25 games with two starts and scored a career-high 10 points in the Tribe’s win over Houston Baptist. Stratton also came up big in the College’s victory over Towson in Williamsburg, knocking down his first and only career 3-pointer from the top of the key to extend the College’s lead when the Tigers were making a run in the second half.

W&M also handed out its captains cups to seniors Kyle Carrabine, Kisielius, Nathan Mann and Stratton. The quartet comprised the first recruiting class for head coach Tony Shaver and were vital to the recent turnaround of the Tribe program. Carrabine appeared in 79 career games over his career and was a key reserved for the College each of the last two seasons. Mann became the 30th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. He also tied the Tribe school record for games played with 120 and finished his career second on the W&M 3-pointers made list with 215. The Tribe also presented associate sports information director Kris Sears with the program's Sixth Man Award for his hard work and dedication throughout the year.

The Green and Gold enjoyed an exceptional season in 2007-08, garnering its first winning season in a decade. The Tribe also posted back-to-back 15-plus win season for the first time in 25 years. Shaver was named the CAA Coach of the Year and was one of 10 finalists for the Hugh Durham National Mid-Major Coach of the Year. While four seniors depart from the W&M program, the Tribe returns three starters and a number of key reserves for the 2008-09 season. Along with the returnees, the College will welcome in a pair of freshmen, Quinn McDowell and Kendrix Brown, along with junior Sean McCurdy, who will be eligible after sitting out the 2007-08 season following a transfer from Arkansas. The Green and Gold will also welcome back junior Alex Smith, who redshirted the 2007-08 season after suffering an injury early in the year.

Photo Gallery from the Awards Banquet

Men's Basketball Awards
Team MVP: Laimis Kisielius
Most Improved: Danny Sumner
Kraze Award: David Schneider
Mark Batzel Award: Chris Stratton
Assists Award: David Schneider
Defense Award: Peter Stein
Rebound Award: Peter Stein
Free Throw Award: David Schneider
Toughness Award: Peter Stein
Captain’s Cups: Laimis Kisielius, Nathan Mann, Chris Stratton, Kyle Carrabine
Sixth Man Award: Kris Sears