TORONTO — Johnny Berhanemeskel earned Canadian University basketball’s top honour Wednesday, winning the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as player of the year.
The fifth-year guard led the Ottawa Gee-Gees to a CIS-best 18-1 record this season, and topped the OUA conference in scoring with 23.2 points per game. He’s the first player in school history to capture a national individual award in the sport.
Carleton forward Thomas Scrubb won his second straight defensive player of the year award, Brock guard Johneil Simpson won the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy as rookie of the year, Ottawa’s James Derouin won the Stuart W. Aberdeen Memorial Trophy as coach of the year, and Memorial forward Noel Moffatt won the Ken Shield Award in recognition of excellence in basketball, academics and community involvement.
Wednesday night’s awards ceremony kicked off this week’s CIS Final 8 at Ryerson University.
Berhanemeskel was a walk-on in his rookie season before flourishing at Ottawa, quickly developing into an elite three-point shooter. The six-foot-two economics student led the CIS in points per 40 minutes (30.9), and averaged 4.5 assists a game.
The Ottawa native played every game over his five seasons, and closes his career with 2000 regular-season points — the third-highest in OUA history and the most among guards.
"Johnny has been an incredible player, leader and teammate for our program," said coach James Derouin. "He improved every single year that he has been with the team and has capped it off with a truly amazing season."
The other finalists were UNB guard Javon Masters, McGill forward Francois Bourque and Victoria forward Chris McLaughlin.
Scrubb, a Richmond, B.C., native who is completing his MBA, led the Ravens with 7.6 rebounds per game, and was the anchor of a defensive unit that ranked first in Canada in fewest points allowed (56.4 per game). He also led his team in scoring (17.2) and the CIS in three-point accuracy (50 per cent).
"Tommy’s drive and determination to shut down the best players each night is a testament to his discipline and work ethic," said Ravens coach Dave Smart. "Defence is his personal challenge in every game and every practice. On his worst day, Tommy is a solid and fundamental defender and on his best day, he is scary good, while still consistently producing on the offensive end."
Guards Ritchie Kanza Mata of Dalhousie, Dele Ogundokun of McGill and Ben Baker of Saskatchewan were finalists.
Simpson, a sport management student from Toronto, started in all 19 league games in his rookie season. He finished sixth in the OUA in scoring (19.2) and registered a season-high 33 points twice.
Acadia guard Ben Miller, Laval wing Alexandre Leclerc and Calgary guard Lars Schlueter were the other nominees.
Derouin is the first Gee-Gees head coach to claim the Aberdeen Trophy. Ottawa’s 18-1 record — good for first in the ultra-competitive OUA North division — was the best winning percentage in school history. The Gee-Gees also reached No. 1 in the national rankings for the first time in history this season, and were the best offensive team in the CIS in scoring, field goal percentage and turnovers ratio.
The other finalists were UNB’s Brent Baker, McGill’s David DeAveiro and Calgary’s Dan Vanhooren.
Moffatt, a native of St. John’s, started all but one Sea-Hawks game. The commerce student has a GPA of 3.8 and is a member of the Faculty of Business Administration’s Dean’s List. Moffatt also co-founded a clothing brand with a socially driven mission — Athlete Aid Apparel donates 10 per cent of sales to Kidsport NL, enabling local children to access sport programs.