David Muenkat and Tyrell Vernon receive AUS major award recognition

2022-23 AUS men's basketball major awards and all-stars announced

UPEI's Elijah Miller named AUS MVP

(HALIFAX, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2022-23 AUS men's basketball all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's eight head coaches following regular season play.

Elijah Miller, a third-year guard with the UPEI Panthers, was chosen as this year's AUS men's basketball most valuable player.

Other major award winners include UNB's Marcus Barnes, named AUS rookie of the year; STFX's David Muenkat, names defensive player of the year; UPEI's John Alex Vos, recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award; and STFX head coach Tyrell Vernon who was named AUS coach of the year for the first time in his career.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Elijah Miller, UPEI Panthers

Elijah Miller, a third-year guard with the UPEI Panthers, has been named the 2022-23 AUS men's basketball most valuable player.

A business student from Rexdale, Ont., Miller led the league in assists this season, averaging 6.0 per game.

He was UPEI's top scorer this season and finished third in the conference in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game. He averaged 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

Miller led UPEI to a 15-5 regular season record, a second-place finish in the conference standings and a first-round bye through to the semifinals of the AUS playoffs.

In addition to being named AUS MVP, he has also been named an AUS first team all-star for the second time in his career. His first all-star nod came last season.

Miller was also named to the AUS all-rookie team in his freshman season in 2019-20.

This season marks the first time a UPEI player has earned conference MVP honours since former Panthers' standout Sherone Edwards in 2004-05.

Miller now becomes the AUS representative for the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding player in U SPORTS basketball. The last Atlantic conference player to win the national award was William Njoku of the Saint Mary's Huskies in 1992-93.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Marcus Barnes, UNB REDS

The 2022-23 AUS rookie of the year is Marcus Barnes from the UNB REDS.

A six-foot-three guard from Kitchener, Ont., Barnes started in 17 games for the REDS this season and played in all 20.

He led all AUS rookies in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game. He also averaged 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for UNB.

This marks the second consecutive season a player from the REDS has been honoured as the conference's top rookie. AUS second team all-star Norm Burry earned the honour last season.

Barnes will now represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the Dr. Peter Mullins trophy as U SPORTS rookie of the year. UNB and AUS standout Javon Masters is the only UNB player to ever earn the award, receiving the honour in the 2013-14 season.

The last player from the Atlantic conference to be named U SPORTS rookie of the year was Saint Mary's Nikita Kasongo, who took home the award in 2017-18.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: David Muenkat, STFX X-Men 

David Muenkat of the STFX X-Men basketball team is the 2022-23 AUS men's basketball defensive player of the year.

A fourth-year forward from Brampton, Ont., Muenkat averaged a double double this season, with 15.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He led the conference in defensive rebounds, averaging 7.3 per game, and added 1.4 steals per game.

Muenkat led the X-Men to a 17-3 regular season record, a first-place finish in the conference standings and a first-round playoff bye through to the semi-final round of the AUS championship.

In addition to being named the top defensive payer, he has also been named an AUS first team all-star.

Muenkat is just second player from STFX to earn the AUS defensive player of the year award since its inception in 2004-05. Former X-Men standout Garry Gallimore took home the honour in three consecutive seasons from 2004-05 to 2006-07.

Muenkat now becomes the AUS conference nominee for the U SPORTS defensive player of the year award. Cape Breton's Phil Nkrumah and STFX's Gallimore are the only AUS players to have been named U SPORTS defensive player of the year.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: John Alex Vos, UPEI Panthers

John Alex Vos of the UPEI Panthers is the 2022-23 recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award and will be the Atlantic conference nominee for the prestigious Ken Shields Award.

Vos worked hard on the court, in the classroom and in the community this season.

A forward in his first year of eligibility from Charlottetown, P.E.I., Vos played in 16 games for the Panthers. He averaged 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game this season.

In the classroom, the business student maintained a 3.7 GPA and was awarded the J. J. Revell Business Award for "demonstrating academic excellence and leadership with a particular emphasis on leadership in varsity sports".

Vos is heavily involved in the community. In September 2022, he founded the UPEI Sports Industry Society, a student-run group that supports those interested in pursuing a career in professional sports. The group has organized charity basketball and soccer tournaments and other events, which have raised money they then donated to KidSport and Special Olympics.

Vos is also a volunteer coach, serving as head coach of the Island Aces U16 boys basketball team.

He also serves as the current Director of Networking and Alumni Relations for the University Sports Business Alliance—a student-run group that connects sports business clubs across the country for networking events and professional development.

"In my six years at this job, I have never come across someone so willing to help others and so humble in playing down the accomplishment," said UPEI head coach Darrell Glenn. "He's the first person off the bench congratulating a teammate on a successful run or play and he's the first person off the bench lifting up a teammate or trying to inspire the team."

Vos is just the second ever player from the Panthers to earn this honour. UPEI's Jeff Walker first won it in 2002-03.

Vos now becomes the AUS nominee for the national Ken Shields Award. No UPEI player has ever earned the national award.

Nine former AUS athletes have previously taken home the Ken Shields Award. Former Tigers standout Sven Stammberger was the most recent winner in 2017-18.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Tyrell Vernon, STFX X-Men

In just his second season at the helm of the STFX X-Men program, Tyrell Vernon has been selected by his peers as the AUS coach of the year for the first time in his career.

The U SPORTS no. 5-ranked X-Men finished in first place in the AUS regular season standings with a 17-3 record, earning a first-round playoff bye through to the semi-final round of the AUS championship.

STFX led the conference and finished second in U SPORTS in points per game this season (averaging 92.7) and in steals per game (averaging 10.7).

They finished first in AUS in rebounds per game (44.0) and had the best field goal percentage in the league (46.8%). The X-Men also held opponents to a conference-best field goal percentage of just 39.2.

Coach Vernon and his STFX squad enter the AUS championship looking for their first title since 2006. They will then move on to host the U SPORTS Final 8 Men's Basketball Championship March 10-12 back at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S.

This marks the first AUS coach of the year award of Vernon's career. His predecessor Steve Konchalski last earned the honour as the conference's top coach in 2005-06.

He will now represent the AUS as the nominee for U SPORTS coach of the year. Konchalski was awarded the national honour following the 2000-01 season. The most recent Atlantic conference coach to be named U SPORTS coach of the year was Dalhousie's Rick Plato in 2019-20.

FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

First Team All-Stars   
Elijah Miller, UPEI (3^rd year – Rexdale, Ont.)
David Muenkat, STFX (4^th year – Brampton, Ont.)
Emanuel Ring, Memorial (3^rd year – St. John's, N.L.)
Osman Omar, Cape Breton (5^th year – Mississauga, Ont.)
Nginyu Ngala, Dalhousie (2^nd year – Montreal, Que.)

Second Team All-Stars

Deon Ejim, STFX (3^rd year – Brampton, Ont.)
Shae Linton-Brown, Saint Mary's (4^th year – Toronto, Ont.)
Norm Burry, UNB (2^nd year – Grafton, N.B.)
Dontae Mitchell, Saint Mary's (5^th year – Vaughan, Ont.)
Dondre Reddick, STFX (3^rd year – Antigonish, N.S.)

All-Rookie Team

Marcus Barnes, UNB (Kitchener, Ont.)
Justus Peuser, Cape Breton (Geisenheim, Germany)
Gabe Davignon, Acadia (Whites Lake, N.S.)
Cameron Brown, UPEI (Scarborough, Ont.)
Jodick Moudiandambu, Memorial (Hamilton, Ont.) 

The 2023 Subway AUS Basketball Championships, presented by Bell and G-Series, will be hosted at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S., Feb. 24 to 26. March 17-20. Click here for the men's championship schedule.

For more information on standings and the full event schedule, visit AUSHoops.ca. Single session tickets are now available through Ticket Atlantic.

All men's and women's championship games will be streamed live on AUStv.

The 2023 U SPORTS Men's Final 8 Basketball Championship is being hosted by STFX University March 10 to 12 in Halifax, N.S. Both the AUS champions and the STFX X-Men, as host, receive a berth at the national championship. Should STFX win the conference title, the second Atlantic conference berth at nationals will be awarded to the AUS championship runner-up.

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