HALIFAX (U SPORTS) – Dalhousie forward Kashrell Lawrence was named the 2017 recipient of the U Sports Ken Shields Award (for Student-Athlete Community Service), Wednesday night.
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Other U SPORTS award winners announced during the All-Canadian Awards Gala were Connor Wood, a fifth-year guard from the Carleton Ravens, who was named the 2017 U SPORTS Men's Basketball Player of the Year; Ottawa guard Caleb Agada, Defensive Player of the Year; Laurentian guard Kadre Gray, Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy (Rookie of the Year) and Carleton's Dave Smart, Stuart W. Aberdeen Memorial Trophy (Coach of the Year).
The 2017 ArcelorMittal Dofasco U SPORTS Final 8 gets under way Thursday, March 9, at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S., hosted by Dalhousie University. Semifinals will be airing live on Sportsnet 360 and SN Now on Saturday, March 11 at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET, with the finals airing Sunday, March 12 at 1 p.m. ET. The rest of the tournament will be available for online streaming at TV1 webcast.
KEN SHIELDS AWARD (Student-Athlete Community Service): Kashrell Lawrence, Dalhousie
Kashrell Lawrence of the Dalhousie Tigers is the 2017 recipient of the Ken Shields Award for student-athlete community service.
A native of Brampton, Ont., the 6-foot-4 forward was the Tigers' leading scorer this season, averaging 15.2 points per game.
He also led Dalhousie in rebounding, with an average of 6.8 per game, and had 1.9 steals per game.
Lawrence has served as a captain of the Tigers for the past three seasons. He is vice president of Dalhousie's varsity council.
He is a member of the Tigers' executive team for SAMHI—the student-athlete mental health initiative—and he played an integral part of promoting the Bell Let's Talk Day initative on campus.
"In my 35 years of coaching, few student-athletes have demonstrated such excellence on the court and such selflessness off of it," said Tigers head coach Rick Plato. "From the outside, Kash appears as an imposing, fearless competitor. But, as the saying goes: 'Don't judge a book by its cover'. I have come to know Kash as a compassionate, concerned, and thoughtful individual who always puts others first.
"As a three-year captain of the Tigers, and a forceful competitor who led his team to back-to-back AUS titles, most people know Kash as a basketball star. I am as equally if not more proud of Kash as a person who has shown a sincere desire to make a difference in the lives of those who are not nearly as fortunate as himself. In this regard, he is a true all-star."
The other nominees were guards Ryan Bennett of Brock, Phil Jalalpoor of UBC, and Charles Miller of UQAM.
2017 U SPORTS MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
*Atlantic conference recipients in bold
Mike Moser Memorial Trophy (Player of the Year): Connor Wood, Carleton
Defensive Player of the Year: Caleb Agada, Ottawa
Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Kadre Gray, Laurentian
Stuart W. Aberdeen Memorial Trophy (Coach of the Year): Dave Smart, Carleton
Ken Shields Award (Student-Athlete Community Service): Kashrell Lawrence, Dalhousie
Pos. Athlete University Year Hometown Program
First Team
G Connor Wood Carleton 5 Guelph, Ont. Psychology
G Conor Morgan UBC 4 Victoria, B.C. Kinesiology
G Adika Peter-McNeilly Ryerson 5 Scarborough, Ont. Sociology
F Kevin Bercy StFX 4 Kanata, Ont. Bus. Admin.
G Thomas Cooper Calgary 5 Chattanooga, Tenn. Arts
Second Team
G Kaza Kajami-Keane Carleton 5 Ajax, Ont. Comms. & Media
Studies
G Dele Ogundokun McGill 4 Hamilton, Ont. Bus. Management
G Javon Masters UNB 4 Kitchener, Ont. Arts
G Caleb Agada Ottawa 5 Burlington, Ont. Economics
F Shane Osayande Saskatchewan 4 Toronto, Ont. Arts & Science
All-Rookie Team
G Kadre Gray Laurentian 1 Toronto, Ont. Human Kinetics
F Eddie Ekiyor Carleton 1 Ottawa, Ont. Psychology
G Scott Kellum Victoria 1 Issaquah, Wash. Business
F Jamaal Potopsingh UNB 1 Brampton, Ont. Arts
G Kendrick Jolin McGill 1 Pte. Claire, Que. Arts
For the complete U Sports men's basketball awards release, please click here.