ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Redeemer University College's Rayvon Higdon (Rochester, N.Y.) was named the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in a ceremony held in St. Catharines, Ont., on Thursday morning as part of the 2018 belairdirect OCAA Men's Basketball Championship.
Higdon was sixth in OCAA scoring averaging 21.6 points per game, and fifth in total points with 433. The fifth-year guard shot 47.7 per cent for the season, and was 41.0 per cent from three-point range. Higdon was tied for third with 110 assists and also sixth in steals with 45. Higdon is now a three-time Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Canadian and headlines the OCAA West Division First-Team All-Stars.
Khalil Miller (Scarborough) of Seneca is also an All-Canadian. The second-year forward and last season's OCAA Rookie of the Year averaged 15.4 points per game, but drew accolades for his play without the ball earning recognition as East Division Defensive Player of the Year. Miller led the OCAA with 59 blocks and was fifth with 193 rebounds. He also contributed 21 steals. Miller is also an OCAA East Division First-Team All-Star.
The OCAA Rookie of the Year is Zaman Khan (Ottawa) of Toronto Mississauga. Khan was a breath of fresh air for the first-year UTM men's basketball program as he was the West Division Scoring Champion averaging 24.8 points per game. The forward led all OCAA players with 496 points, and was second with 244 rebounds. Khan is also the OCAA West Division Rookie of the Year, an OCAA West Division Second-Team All-Star and headlines the West Division All-Rookie Team.
Jamie Girolametto of Redeemer is the OCAA West Division Coach of the Year and is the OCAA nominee for CCAA Coach of the Year. The Royals have steadily improved under Girolametto's leadership, and had their best season ever in 2017-18 winning the West Division championship with a near-perfect record of 19-1.
Daniel Smalling (Vaughan) of Canadore is the OCAA League Scoring Champion. The second-year guard and East Division Scoring Champion averaged 25.6 points per game, totalling 486 points. Smalling is also an OCAA East Division First-Team All-Star.
The OCAA East Division Rookie of the Year is Adam Costanzo (Ottawa) of George Brown. The forward was the top rebounder on his team with 152 boards, while contributing 214 points, an average of 10.7 per game. Costanzo is an OCAA East Division Second-Team All-Star and headlines the East Division All-Rookie Team.
Seneca's Jay McNeilly is the OCAA East Division Coach of the Year. In his first season at the helm, McNeilly guided the Sting to a near-perfect record of 19-1 to win the OCAA East Division championship. Seneca ended the regular season as the CCAA and OCAA No. 1-ranked team.
The West Division Defensive Player of the Year is Foster Brown (Stoney Creek) of Redeemer. The second-year guard tallied 140 rebounds, 33 steals and nine blocks in 20 regular season games.
Joining Higdon as OCAA West Division First-Team All-Stars are Fanshawe's Chris Parker (Toledo, Ohio); Humber's Kenny Ejim (Brampton); Lambton's Branden Padgett (Detroit, Mich.); and Sheridan's Nick Campbell (Brampton).
In addition to Miller and Smalling, Durham's Funsho Dimeji (Malton) and Brandon Halliburton (Brampton); and Seneca's Yusuf Ali (Toronto) were named OCAA East Division First-Team All-Stars.
Along with Khan, OCAA West Division Second-Team All-Stars include Sean Clendinning (Orillia) of Fanshawe; C.J. Bennett (Brampton) of Humber; and Van Hutchinson Jr. (Bahamas) and Levi Mukuna (Hamilton) of Niagara.
Joining Costanzo as OCAA East Division Second-Team All-Stars are teammate Dejazmatch (DJ) James (Toronto) of George Brown; Kendell Wilson (Pickering) of Centennial; Connor Laronde (Barrie) of Georgian; and Taylor Reddick (Wellington) of St. Lawrence Kingston.
As well as Khan, the OCAA West Division All-Rookie Team includes Conestoga's Shequell Gilgeous-Glasgow (Kitchener); Humber's Fowzi Mohamoud (Rexdale); Lambton's Keith Laryea (Rexdale); and Redeemer's Elijah Lostracco (Oakville).
Angelo Sarsonas (Toronto) and Raymond Yeung (Richmond Hill) of Loyalist; and Jordan Anderson (Markham) and Trevor Hutton (Toronto) of Seneca join Costanzo on the OCAA East Division All-Rookie Team.
2017-18 OCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL MAJOR AWARDS
OCAA Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Rayvon Higdon, Redeemer
CCAA Men's Basketball All-Canadians
Rayvon Higdon, Redeemer
Khalil Miller, Seneca
OCAA Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year
Zaman Khan, U of T Mississauga
CCAA Men's Basketball Coach of the Year Nominee
Jamie Girolametto, Redeemer
OCAA Men's Basketball League Scoring Champion
Daniel Smalling, Canadore
OCAA Men's Basketball East Division Rookie of the Year
Adam Costanzo, George Brown
OCAA Men's Basketball West Division Rookie of the Year
Zaman Khan, U of T Mississauga
OCAA Men's Basketball East Division Coach of the Year
Jay McNeilly, Seneca
OCAA Men's Basketball West Division Coach of the Year
Jamie Girolametto, Redeemer
OCAA Men's Basketball East Division Scoring Champion
Daniel Smalling, Canadore
OCAA Men's Basketball West Division Scoring Champion
Zaman Khan, U of T Mississauga
OCAA Men's Basketball East Division Defensive Player of the Year
Khalil Miller, Seneca
OCAA Men's Basketball West Division Defensive Player of the Year
Foster Brown, Redeemer
OCAA Men's Basketball East Division Champions
Seneca Sting
OCAA Men's Basketball West Division Champions
Redeemer Royals
OCAA Men's Basketball East Division First-Team All-Stars
Yusuf Ali, Seneca
Funsho Dimeji, Durham
Brandon Halliburton, Durham
Khalil Miller, Seneca
Daniel Smalling, Canadore
OCAA Men's Basketball East Division Second-Team All-Stars
Adam Costanzo, George Brown
Dejazmatch (DJ) James, George Brown
Connor Laronde, Georgian
Taylor Reddick, St. Lawrence (K)
Kendell Wilson, Centennial
OCAA Men's Basketball West Division First-Team All-Stars
Nick Campbell, Sheridan
Kenny Ejim, Humber
Rayvon Higdon, Redeemer
Branden Padgett, Lambton
Chris Parker, Fanshawe
OCAA Men's Basketball West Division Second-Team All-Stars
C.J. Bennett, Humber
Sean Clendinning, Fanshawe
Van Hutchinson Jr., Niagara
Zaman Khan, U of T Mississauga
Levi Mukuna, Niagara
OCAA Men's Basketball East Division All-Rookie Team
Jordan Anderson, Seneca
Adam Costanzo, George Brown
Trevor Hutton, Seneca
Angelo Sarsonas, Loyalist
Raymond Yeung, Loyalist
OCAA Men's Basketball West Division All-Rookie Team
Shequell Gilgeous-Glasgow, Conestoga
Zaman Khan, U of T Mississauga
Keith Laryea, Lambton
Elijah Lostracco, Redeemer
Fowzi Mohamoud, Humber
- OCAA -
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