University of Dayton senior forward Chris Johnson and junior guard Kevin Dillard were named co-winners of the White-Allen Most Valuable Player Award Sunday afternoon at the annual UD men's basketball banquet. The event was held at the Time Warner Cable Flight Deck at the University of Dayton Arena.
Johnson, a 2008 graduate of Brookhaven High School in Columbus, Ohio, leads the Flyers in scoring (13.0), rebounding (6.4), free throw percentage (.840, 63-75) and three-pointers made (67). Going into the post-season, Johnson is 23rd in career scoring at UD (1,445 points), 12th in rebounding (828), fifth in three-pointers made (234) and fourth in offensive rebounds (305).
Dillard, a 2008 product of Homewood-Flossmoor High School in the Chicago area, was second for the Flyers in scoring (12.9) and the team in assists (5.9), minutes (32.3) and steals (1.3). In his first season at UD after transferring from Southern Illinois, Dillard’s 178 assists to date are the fifth-highest single-season total in school history. When the Flyers won the Old Spice Classic championship in November, Dillard was named the tournament MVP.
The White-Allen Most Valuable Player Trophy is sponsored by Tim White and White-Allen Auto Group, Inc. The award is selected by members of the team. The White-Allen Trophy has been awarded annually since 1953. White-Allen now sponsors the MVP award for UD’s men’s and women’s basketball, football and volleyball teams.
Johnson was also named the first four-time winner of the Alex Schoen Memorial Free Throw Trophy as UD’s top free throw shooter. The Schoen Trophy is named in honor of Alex Schoen, Sr., the captain of UD's first varsity basketball team in 1903-04. Awarded since 1950, it is sponsored by Alex Schoen, Jr. It goes to the UD player with the highest FT% with a minimum of 1.5 free throws per game attempted.
As the team’s top rebounder, Johnson also captured the “Shorty” Sharpenter Memorial Rebounding Trophy. The Sharpenter Award is named for Hall of Famer Ned "Shorty" Sharpenter, and has been sponsored by his family since its inception in 1979.
Johnson is the only college basketball player in the last 20 years to have 1,400 points, 800 rebounds, 300 offensive rebounds and 200 three-pointers while shooting at least 80% from the line in the last 20 years.
Senior guard Paul Williams was named the winner of the Best Defender Award for the second straight year. Williams always drew the opponents’ toughest backcourt assignment in starting 27 of the 30 games he played. At 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds, he has the length to cover smaller point guards and the strength to handle bigger players. Williams also averaged 9.0 points and 2.6 rebounds. First presented in 1994-95, the Best Defender Award is determined by the coaching staff.
Senior guard Josh Parker was another repeat winner. He and senior forward Luke Fabrizius were named the co-winners of the Dr. George Rau Spirit Award, which is given annually to the player who displays true team spirit, on and off the court. The two most vocal leaders on the team, Parker averaged 8.5 points and Fabrizius 6.1 points a game in the regular season.
The Harry O'Rourke Insurance Agency sponsors the Rau Award, which began following the long-time Flyer team physician's death in 1972.
Junior guard Brian Vonderhaar was presented with the John L. Macbeth Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award, which goes to the upperclassman on the team with the highest cumulative grade point average. A Finance and Entrepreneurship double major, Vonderhaar carries a 3.8 GPA. The Macbeth Scholar-Athlete Award is presented in memory of Dayton businessman John L. Macbeth, and is sponsored by Mrs. John L. Macbeth and family. It has been awarded since 1959.
Sophomore forward Devin Oliver was named this season’s winner of the Uhl Family Endowed Scholarship. Former Flyers Bill Uhl, Sr. and Bill Uhl, Jr., have endowed a men’s basketball scholarship that is given annually to be given to a returning Flyer basketball player. Originally awarded in 2003, it was the first endowed award of this type in the University of Dayton Athletics Division. It is given annually to the UD player who best exemplifies the qualities of good sportsmanship and character, and follows the University’s creed of “Learn, Lead and Serve” on and off the court. Previous recipients have been Keith Waleskowski, Mark Jones, Warren Williams, Jimmy Binnie, Marcus Johnson, Kurt Huelsman, Devin Searcy and Luke Fabrizius.
Oliver averages 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds this season. Since moving into the starting lineup four games ago, he has averaged 8.3 points and 8.0 rebounds, made all eight of his free throw attempts and come up with six steals.
Junior center Matt Kavanaugh was UD’s Chris Daniels Memorial Award winner. After averaging 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds a game, and shooting .451 from the field and .571 from the line in 30 games as a sophomore, Kavanaugh has upped those numbers to 9.3, 6.2, .560 and .788 in 30 starts. He is second on the team in rebounding and leads in offensive rebounds (3.2) and FG% (.560, 108-193). The last UD player to shoot that well over a season was Sean Finn, who shot .688 in 2003-04.
The Daniels Award and is sponsored by Skelton Sports, and is presented in memory of Flyer center Chris Daniels. Originated in 1994-95 as the most improved player award, this award was renamed for Chris Daniels following his death in 1996.
Freshman center Alex Gavrilovich was presented the Thomas M. Luppe Award, which is presented to the first-year player on the team who best demonstrates the courage, desire and integrity of former Flyer freshman Tom Luppe. The Luppe Award honors Thomas M. Luppe, who died in 1963 while playing in a UD freshman game. Gavrilovich played in 27 games, averaging 12.8 minutes a contest. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting .542 (45-83) from the field.
UD finished the regular season 19-11 overall and tied for fifth in the Atlantic 10 with a 9-7 record. The Flyer senior class of Luke Fabrizius, Chris Johnson, Josh Parker and Paul Williams enter the Atlantic 10 tournament with 93 career wins, third-best in school history. All four will graduate in May, extending UD’s string of four-year basketball seniors to earn their degrees to 35.
Dayton will host George Washington Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET in the first round of the A-10 tournament.
2011-2012 UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
WHITE-ALLEN MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
CHRIS JOHNSON & KEVIN DILLARD
ALEX SCHOEN FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
CHRIS JOHNSON
JOHN L. MACBETH SCHOLAR-ATHLETE
BRIAN VONDERHAAR
DR. GEORGE RAU SPIRIT AWARD
JOSH PARKER & LUKE FABRIZIUS
"SHORTY" SHARPENTER TOP REBOUNDER
CHRIS JOHNSON
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
PAUL WILLIAMS
CHRIS DANIELS MEMORIAL AWARD
MATT KAVANAUGH
UHL FAMILY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP
DEVIN OLIVER
THOMAS M. LUPPE MEMORIAL AWARD
ALEX GAVRILOVICH
