Upshaw named AUS Player of the Year

2008-09 AUS Men's Basketball Major Awards Announced

March 4, 2009 (HALIFAX, NS) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2008-09 men's basketball major award winners as chosen by the eight Atlantic conference head coaches.

The 2008-09 Frank Baldwin Memorial Trophy recipient as the Atlantic University Sport Most Valuable Player is StFX's Christian Upshaw (Halifax, NS). Upshaw, a third year guard and the 2006-07 AUS Rookie of the Year, scored 19.1 points per game this season including a 38-point game against the Cape Breton Capers where he established a new StFX record for three-pointers made in a game with nine. Christian also led the #5-ranked X-Men in assists (4.00 per game - 5th in AUS), free-throw percentage (81.7 per cent - 6th in AUS) and three-point FG percentage (47.9 per cent - second in AUS).

"Christian had a phenomenal break-out year for the X-Men," comments head coach Steve Konchalski. "He ranks in the top 10 in the AUS in every category except rebounding and blocked shots, amazing feats for a 5'10" point guard. He has done it all for the X-Men this year, leading us to a first place finish in the AUS and a consistent top 5 national ranking."

Christian is just the fourth StFX player to be named AUS MVP in the past 30 years, joining Fred Perry, Kyle Gayle and John Hatch as the only X-Men players to win the award. Upshaw will be the conference representative for the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding player in CIS basketball. The last Atlantic conference player to win the CIS award was William Njoku of the Saint Mary's Huskies in 1992-93.

Casey Fox (Halifax, NS) of the Acadia Axemen the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year. Casey led all freshmen in league scoring this season with 14.7 points per game, ranking him eighth overall in the conference. Fox also finished third in free-throw shooting (84.4 per cent) and seventh in 3-point field-goal percentage (43.0 per cent).

Casey, also named to the all-rookie team, becomes the first Acadia player to be named Rookie of the Year since 2001-02 when Nick Landrigan was selected. Dalhousie's Shawn Plancke is the only AUBC player to ever be named CIS Rookie of the Year.

For the second year in a row and third time in his seven year career, Cape Breton's Jim Charters has been selected by his peers as the AUS Coach of the Year.

Charters, who also took home the award in 2004-05, guided the Capers to a 15-5 regular season record this season and a second place finish despite the loss of all-stars Eric Breland and Paul Blake. The Capers, ranked 9th in the final coaches poll of the season, have now clinched a first round playoff bye in five of the past six seasons.

Charters, whose career regular season record now stands at 97-50, has posted a winning record in each of the past six seasons with the Capers. StFX's Steve Konchalski (2000-01) is the last Atlantic conference head coach to win the Stuart W. Aberdeen Trophy as the CIS Coach of the Year.

Jim Charters' CIS head coaching record (regular season):
Team                Year      G   W   L
Dalhousie (Interim) 2001-02   7   1   6
Cape Breton         2002-03  20   8  12
Cape Breton         2003-04  20  13   7
Cape Breton         2004-05  20  14   6
Cape Breton         2005-06  20  16   4
Cape Breton         2006-07  20  16   4
Cape Breton         2007-08  20  14   6
Cape Breton         2008-09  20  15   5
Overall                     147  97  50
The Atlantic University Sport Defensive Player of the Year is 6'4", third-year guard Phillip Nkrumah (Brampton, ON) of the #9-ranked Cape Breton Capers.

Nkrumah led the conference in rebounding (11.3 rebounds per game) and was the only AUS player to average a double-double this season.

Phillip's season included a career-high 39-point outing against the StFX X-Men and a league-best 10 double-doubles in regular season play. He also led the AUS in steals (3.25 per game) and ranked fourth in the league in both assists (4.10 per game) and blocked shots (1.10 per game). The Capers allowed just 69.8 points per game this year, second only to Dalhousie.

StFX's Garry Gallimore is the only player to have won this award since it's inception in 2004-05. Gallimore was also named the CIS Defensive Player of the Year in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

The 2008-09 Atlantic University Sport Community Service and Student-Athlete Award recipient is Alex Traikov of the Acadia Axemen.

This award is presented annually to the player who best exhibits outstanding achievements in basketball, academics, and community involvement. Alex will be the conference's nominee for the CIS Ken Shields Award.

Alex, a fourth year forward with the Axemen, led the Atlantic conference in field goal percentage (57.7 per cent), finished seventh in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and 10th in scoring with an average of 14.7 points per game.

A three-time academic all-Canadian, Traikov will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. Traikov, who has volunteered with the Run for the Cure Campaign and as a peer tutor at Acadia, has fundraised for a number of causes, including World Vision and the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto.

The 2009 Subway Atlantic University Sport Final 6 Men's Basketball Championship is being held at the Halifax Metro Centre March 5-7, 2009. All tickets for the tournament are available through the Ticket Atlantic box office at 902-451-1221 or online at www.ticketatlantic.com. The championship schedule is as follows:

Thursday, March 5th
Quarter-final #1: Saint Mary's (4th) vs. UPEI (5th), 7:00pm
Quarter-final #2: Dalhousie (3rd) vs. Acadia (6th), 9:15pm

Friday, March 6th
Semi-final #1: StFX (1st) vs. Winner of Quarter-final #1, 7:00pm
Semi-final #2: Cape Breton (2nd) vs. Winner of Quarter-final #2, 9:15pm

Saturday, March 7th
Championship Game: Semi-final Winners, 7:30pm

The Atlantic University Sport champions will advance to the 2009 CIS Men's Basketball Championship, March 13-15, 2009, hosted by Carleton University in Ottawa. For more information on the 2009 Subway AUS Final 6 Men's Basketball Championship, visit the event website at www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/final6/

For further information, please visit www.atlanticuniversitysport.com,