UCLA held its men’s basketball banquet tonight, and Darren Collison and Josh Shipp were named co-MVPs. Here’s the release from UCLA:
UCLA Men’s Basketball Announces 2009 Honors at Annual Banquet
UCLA senior guards Darren Collison and Josh Shipp were each given the Coach John Wooden Award as the Bruins’ Co-Most Valuable Players Monday night at the 2009 UCLA Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet held at the Beverly Hilton.
Shipp, a second team All-Pac-10 selection, led the Bruins in scoring at 14.5 points per game, ranking 10th in the league. Collison a first team All-Pac-10 selection, was second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game, which ranked 14th in the conference.
During the evening’s festivities, Collison was also awarded two other awards. He earned the Bob “Ace” Calkins Memorial Award (free throw champion) for the third straight year by shooting 89.7 percent (113-for-126) from the charity stripe. That percentage led the Pac-10 Conference, ranked fourth nationally and was fourth all-time on UCLA’s single season charts. Collison ended his career in third on UCLA’s career charts in free throw percentage at .851 (349-for-410). Additionally, he earned the UCLA Alumni Association Award (team assist leader), averaging 4.7 assists per game (166), which ranked fourth in the Pac-10 Conference. He ended his career ranked fifth on UCLA’s career charts in assists (577, 4.1 apg).
Senior center Alfred Aboya was given the Elvin C. “Ducky” Drake Memorial Award for Competitive Spirit, Inspiration and Unselfish Contributions for the third straight year. Only this year, he was a co-winner, sharing the title with junior guard/forward Michael Roll. Aboya, an All-Pac-10 Conference honorable mention selection, averaged 9.9 points per game. Roll averaged 6.7 points per game and led the Pac-10 Conference in all games in three-point field goal percentage at 51.5 percent (51-for-99).
Aboya was also a three-time award winner, receiving the Gerald A. Finerman Award (team rebounding leader), averaging 6.3 rebounds per game, which was ninth in the Pac-10 Conference. He also garnered the Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Award (Outstanding Defensive Player). Aboya was also named to the Pac-10 All-Defensive Team and to the national All-Defensive Team by FoxSports.com.
Guard Jrue Holiday was named the winner of the Seymour Armond Memorial Award (Most Valuable Freshman) after averaging 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists (9th in the Pac-10) and 1.6 steals per game (4th in the Pac-10). Holiday proved to be a stat sheet stuffer on the year, recording multiple points, rebounds, assists and steals in the same game 13 times on the year. For his efforts, he was awarded the Bruin Hoopsters J.D. Morgan Memorial Award (Outstanding Team Play).
Junior forward Nikola Dragovic was given the Bruin Bench Basketball Award for Most Improvement in All-Around Play and Mental Attitude. Dragovic averaged 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game (18th in the Pac-10) in 2008-09. He also shot 44.0 percent (44-for-100) from three-point range in Pac-10 play (8th in the league) and made 2.4 three-pointers per game (6th in the league). He also ranked 10th in the league in defensive rebounds per game at 3.7 per contest.
Junior guard Mustafa Abdul-Hamid was given the UCLA Faculty Athletic Representative Award (Academic Achievement and Team Contribution). He only played in two games before suffering a season-ending injury. He had an overall grade point average of 3.78 while having a dual major in communication studies/global studies.
2009 UCLA Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet Honors
Bob “Ace” Calkins Memorial Award/Free Throw Champion Darren Collison
Elvin C. “Ducky” Drake Memorial Award/Competitive Spirit, Inspiration and Unselfish Contributions Alfred Aboya and Michael Roll
Bruin Hoopsters J.D. Morgan Memorial Award/Outstanding Team Play Josh Shipp and James Keefe
UCLA Faculty Athletic Representative Award/Academic Achievement and Team Contribution Mustafa Abdul-Hamid
Seymour Armond Memorial Award/Most Valuable Freshman Jrue Holiday
Bruin Bench Basketball Award/Most Improvement in All-Around Play and Mental Attitude Nikola Dragovic
Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Award/Outstanding Defensive Player Alfred Aboya
UCLA Alumni Association Award/Team Assist Leader Darren Collison
Gerald A. Finerman Award/Team Rebounding Leader Alfred Aboya
Coach John Wooden Award/Most Valuable Player Darren Collison and Josh Shipp